The Boys Day Out race meeting will take place at Dubbo Turf Club on Sunday, May 6, followed by HALT’s Save Your Bacon brekkie at Astley’s Plumbing and Hardware the following morning.

The co-founder of HALT (Hope Assistance Local Tradies) Jeremy Forbes will be in town to talk to tradespeople about where they can turn if they are going through a rough patch.

Local organiser Steve Gower has been working with Mr Forbes for 12 months to bring him to Dubbo because he felt it was important for people to address their mental health.

“While he is here Jeremy will be talking about how to deal with anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. At the breakfast he will be chatting to people more in a one-on-one setting,” Mr Gower said.

“However he is also doing a number of talks while he is here, including at the Dubbo Chamber of Commerce breakfast, Rotary and the men’s shed, as well as some of the sporting clubs.”

HALT was established by Mr Forbes and Catherine Pilgrim in 2013 after the death of a friend at Castlemaine in Victoria. They had seen too many suicides and decided they wanted to do something to help.

“We needed to give the tradie community the tools to be able to help themselves and their mates. Hence HALT was born,” Mr Forbes said.

Since then they have run a number of breakfast seminars across Australia and they are designed to help people realise what services are available to them.

He said they act as a conduit between tradies and organisations like Lifeline and MensLine.

“It’s great that these support services locally and nationally exist but HALT brings it all together,” Mr Forbes said.

Mr Forbes said he was lured to Dubbo by “support, encouragement and willingness” from key members of the community.

The HALT breakfast is free to all who attend and has been supported by a number of local businesses and organisations including all four Rotary Clubs in Dubbo.

Mother Clucker Eggs, Baker’s Delight and the Rotary Club of Dubbo South have donated to the breakfast.