Rural men are honest, generous, and hardworking, with a cracking sense of humour and deep pride in their roles as providers, workers, mates, and community members. Despite these great qualities, rural men face unique and often complex mental health challenges. Suicide rates among men in rural and remote Australia remain significantly higher than in urban areas, with men accounting for 75% of all suicides nationally (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare). Help-seeking remains low due to stigma, isolation, and strong cultural beliefs around toughness and self-reliance.
The Rural Adversity Mental Health Program (RAMHP) is well-known across rural NSW for its “boots on the ground” approach—providing practical, timely, and culturally relevant mental health education and support to communities experiencing adversity. RAMHP Coordinators are embedded in 17 rural, regional, and remote communities, travelling long distances to meet people where they are. Their strength lies in their long-term, consistent presence, listening first, building trust, and tailoring support to reflect local knowledge and needs.
In this presentation, RAMHP Coordinators Phil and Andy will highlight lessons from the ground up, exploring what it truly takes to support rural men’s mental health effectively, from building trust, to adapting messaging, to walking alongside men in the places where they feel comfortable in familiar environments, working with their strengths to open the door to powerful wellbeing conversations and how male-friendly, place-based engagement strategies such as blacksmithing, meat smoking, and butchering workshops, events such as BBQs for blokes in a hands-on, low-pressure activities and shared interests can create a gateway to meaningful connection.
RAMHP’s work with men is further strengthened by strategic local partnerships with Local Sporting Clubs such as the Baggy Blues Cricket Program, Men’s Sheds, Self Seen, and other grassroots organisations. These partnerships ensure programs are designed for men, by men, community-led, socially connected, and relevant. The initiatives provide men with tools to support themselves and each other, reframing mental health as a strength, not a weakness.
The presentation will also highlight how supporting men to help themselves, through group conversations, philosophical reflection, practical skills, and grounding practices like meditation, which creates space for genuine, peer-driven support.
Real change happens when we stop seeing men as the problem and start working with what’s strong, not what’s wrong. When we value their strengths, speak their language, and meet them where they are, we create real opportunities for men to thrive!