A rural lifeline

Kate Chapman finds out how the Lincolnshire Rural Support Network is helping the county’s agricultural communities in times of crisis.

Lincolnshire Rural Support Network (LRSN) – the charity set up to help the county’s farming and horticultural communities during periods of anxiety, stress and other problems relating to their lives and businesses – celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

Launched in 1999, thanks to the foresight of Lincolnshire’s agricultural chaplain Rev Canon Alan Robson and a small group of like-minded people, the volunteer-led organisation was originally designed to offer practical and pastoral support to those in our rural communities.

Now, 25 years on it is has gone from strength to strength and in the past year alone has helped hundreds of people in their hour of need.

“I never thought in all my dreams it would change and develop into the organisation it is now, thriving and striving and looking for new possibilities. It’s quite fulfilling,” said Canon Robson, who also marks his own milestone this year, having been the county’s agricultural chaplain for 25 years.

“I had just barely set up this thing called the Lincolnshire Farmers’ Support Group, which was embryonically working, with volunteers helping me. We had a mix of board members and were going to solve all the rural problems in the world but our chair at the time suggested we ought to focus. We made farm and horticultural workers our focus, we couldn’t solve all the schools’ issues, or prevent rural pubs closing and the bus services not happening, but we could do something to help and support these workers.”

Dealing with mental health
Looking back over the past 25 years, Canon Robson says there have been different problems facing farming communities every few years, while the way people talk and deal with their problems has changed too, as mental health issues have become less taboo.

“There were different problems every five, six, seven years – a different sort of challenge out there,” he adds.

“We’ve had Avian Flu, Swine Fever, Bluetongue and Foot and Mouth – as well as the weather, and it’s these things that cannot be controlled that cause anxiety, anger and frustration, and for some people depression and more extremely suicide.

“Costs have gone up, and people are asking – ‘how do we make money in this job?’ It is a business at the end of the day. Obviously these issues are not just confined to agriculture and Lincolnshire.

“But through all the things that have happened, Lincolnshire is really fortunate to have a strong chaplaincy and a strong organisation like the LRSN to help people deal with these things. It is regarded by many as an exemplar, but it’s also been great fun to be part of, and thanks to it I’ve met many wonderful people.”

Fundraising and volunteers
To mark its anniversary, the LRSN has a series of events planned each month throughout the year, including a charity ball for 800 people. The event, which took place at the Lincolnshire Showground in June, was organised in conjunction with Lincolnshire Agricultural Society and Lincolnshire Rural & Agricultural Chaplaincy.

Other activities have included golf days, breakfast socials, an auction and a couple of quizzes, plus a team from the charity was also in attendance at this summer’s Lincolnshire Show.

Sarah Poucher, LRSN’s fundraising and communications manager, says the organisation supported 216 families between April 2022 and March 2023, while its dedicated helpline answered 171 calls and volunteers gave up almost 1,000 hours as they worked on one-to-one cases. They also maximised almost £3million worth of finance for businesses through grant funding.

The charity currently has around 50 volunteers countywide, including its trustees, who undertake a wide variety of activities. They organise events, carry out fundraising, meet members of the public, man its telephone helpline which is open from 8am to 8pm, collaborate with other organisations and work on its individual cases.

Sarah explains: “The LRSN was originally a signposting service to point people in the right direction for help, but over the past 25 years it has grown, and while it still signposts people, our volunteers also have a huge wealth of knowledge and experience and are able to talk through all kinds of different problems and help people come to their own solutions.

“The majority of our volunteers have an agricultural background, or come from a farming family and the amount of time they give up is down to them – some are happy to meet members of the public and man our stall, or health hut at events, while others prefer to work on individual cases or man our telephone helpline, but we’re always looking for more people to get involved.”

Monthly sessions
Sarah says one of the most popular LRSN services is its free health clinics held at Spalding Auction, Louth Cattle Market and Melton Mowbray Market once a month.

“Farmers are busy people, that’s why we need to go to them. They live and work in isolated communities, do not like taking time off work to go to the doctors and don’t like talking about their health.

“Our monthly sessions include free checks for blood pressure, blood sugar levels and cholesterol. We can also provide pre-diabetes checks, eye and ear checks and people can be referred on to other medical services if necessary.

“We’ve got regulars who’ve gotten to know us at these markets, and then there are others who will chat to our team of volunteers as they’re passing, and we can encourage these to come and get a free health check too. Once people are relaxed a bit, that can lead to them opening up about any other health issues they may have. And it’s not just physical health, we’re here to help with mental health too.”

In addition to the health checks, the charity also takes its mobile health unit to events around the county so more people can access its help, including NFU shows, Lincolnshire Show as well as farming and machinery sales.

For more information about LRSN, or to find out how to volunteer, visit lrsn.co.uk. If you have an issue to discuss, contact the LRSN helpline between 8am and 8pm on 0800 138 1710.

Photographs: courtesy of LRSN

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