Dubbo Tradies gathered together to talk about mental health and share in a warm breakfast on Monday, May 9.
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Bruno Efoti created Tradies in Sight, a mental health and well-being support organisation for all trades people and men because he wanted to put a spotlight on mental health in the Western regions of NSW.
"I observed in my years in the trade industry that men don't do feelings well, I am from Tonga and when I settled in Dubbo and started an apprenticeship, I had a very hard time," he said.
"I was an older apprentice with a family, so I skipped some of the bullying and mistreatment that the younger guys went through, but I still really did not understand the way Aussies thought, the way they did grief and loss and dealt with family breakdown."
Mr Efoti spent many years working alongside men who pushed their feelings aside or drank them away.
"I watched them fall apart eventually and I knew I wanted to help in some way," he said.
"I found myself listening to their stories and their pain more and more and I started TIS in response to the concerns around the mental health struggles and specifically, the alarmingly high suicide rates in the tradie community and the flow on effect to families and businesses."
As his own business struggled, Mr Efoti decided to put the tools down to study counselling to become better equipped to help others.
"As I spent more and more time listening to other tradies I realised that there needed to be a tailored approach to help men get help and learn new skills with their own mental health and wellbeing," he said.
"We thought long and hard about how to tailor our delivery and we knew that food and fire always helped to break down barriers and get men to open up."
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On Monday, May 9 the group held a breakfast event at the O'Brien Electrical Dubbo, to highlight the support they have at the Tradies In Sight Shed, and to make connections with people in the wider tradie community.
"We do this by creating a safe and comfortable environment for men to make that initial step towards getting help if need be or just having a chat with other tradies about the challenges of the current times in the industry," he said.
Mr Efoti said it was important events like this take place in regional towns for a number of reasons.
"Dubbo has faced some serious challenges in the last decade. Drought, fires, floods, and mice plagues on top of COVID-19 have meant that regional businesses have suffered in ways that the cities don't," he said.
"We are currently dealing with a serious lack of resources that have put many trades back years. This adds huge pressure to an already challenging industry."
Mr Efoti said having events that support tradesmen and help them link up with services available in ways that are safe and suitable are "vital to not only prevent suicide but to help men face the daily challenges of their industry and businesses as well as relationships and families."
"We want to support all tradesmen and their families to grow and flourish and not just cope and get by," he said.
There will be plenty more of these barbecue breakfast events in other "tradie" stores and businesses around Dubbo. Tradies in Sight will be at Rohr's Home Timber and Hardware in Gilgandra on Thursday, June 12.
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