JEREMY Forbes is “bothered” by the “macho men” culture that exists in the trades industry.
“I have spent 25 years in the trade industry as a painter and decorator, and have suffered the highs, lows, the goods and the bad in the building industry,” Mr Forbes said.
Mr Forbes, who suffers mild depression, co-founded HALT – Hope, Assistance, Local Tradies – in late 2013 for those in the building industry.
HALT aims to build a bridge between existing support services for people at risk of suicide and the local community.
Close to 40 tradespeople and their employees from all trades braved the wintry conditions before dawn at Hall’s Home Timber and Hardware on Tuesday to receive their bag of tools of mental health information.
Bacons and egg rolls warmed the heart for those struggling with the Winter blues, catered by the Rotary Club of Kerang.
Representatives from Northern District Community Health Service and Southern Mallee Primary Care Partnership were also in attendance.
Mr Forbes said tradespeople would be able to relate to the financial stress that comes with the industry.
“I grew up in Melbourne and worked on big building sites. I suffered bullying, harassment and struggled with alcohol,” he said.
“That was the trade culture of macho men – the ‘she’ll be right’ attitude.
“I suffered in silence and was told to be strong and be a man.”
“For so long I just put up with that. For so long I churned inside because I felt as though I couldn’t talk to anyone about who I really was.”
Mr Forbes said 1995 was a year when the “s” word was prominent within the industry.
“I lost five workmates to suicide and another killed in Port Arthur,” he said.
“I had to get out of that culture, so I went to Castlemaine and the culture was just the same, but not every tradie is the same.
“In July 2013, I saw a guy who had a metal work factory. I spoke to him for about 10 minutes, and was the happiest I had ever seen him. Two weeks later he took his own life.”
His funeral saw people look at each other and ask, “who is next?”, Mr Forbes said.
“That really bothered me,” he said.
“I loved the community, but wasn’t educated enough to do and have that initial conversation about mental health.”
Mr Forbes said he never knew about Lifeline, nor did he know that doctors can perform a mental health check.
HALT are not counsellors, but rather a connection between tradies and the services that can help.
Since its first Save Your Bacon breakfast at a hardware store in Castlemaine in 2013, HALT has travelled across regional Victoria and southern New South Wales.
