More B.C. farmers reaching out for mental health support since floods

The province's Mental Health Support Line is reporting a 15 to 20 per cent increase in calls since the catastrophic floods in November and a manager with the service says hard-hit farmers are making up the bulk of those new calls. 

Asha Croggon, interim manager of the Provincial Crisis Lines Network, says about 75 per cent of the additional calls since the floods have been from farmers. 

"Farmers are often stoic people that are the everyday heroes that have been keeping us fed … they can be under tremendous pressure, some of them have literally seen an entire years' worth of income float away with the floods," said Croggon. 

Historic rainfall caused catastrophic floods in the Fraser Valley that killed thousands of animals, destroyed critical infrastructure, and forced thousands to flee their homes. The president of the B.C. Agriculture Council estimated damage from the floods could cost farmers hundreds of millions of dollars, and some farms could take up to a year to resume operations. 

"The impact is not simply financial … there's also an additional emotional impact," said Croggon. 

Croggon said while some calls are from people looking for information, funding, and other immediate help, many farmers are reaching out for emotional support. 

The provincewide mental health support line at 310-6789 provides B.C. residents with emotional support by phone.

"Often when a crisis first arises our innate coping strategy will kick in, but sometimes it's afterwards when things appear to have been sorted out when the emotion can arise," she said.

The increase in calls since the November floods comes on top of an already doubled call volume at the support line since the beginning of the pandemic, Croggon said. 

Kylie Bartel, a Fraser Valley-based clinical counsellor who specializes in counselling farmers, has also noticed an increase in demand for her services since the flooding. However, she said the number of people reaching out for help has not been proportional to the number of people impacted by flooding. 

"Farmers and ranchers work harder than just about anyone else I know," said Bartel. "Farmers are really good at buckling together and doing what needs to be done in the short term."

She said if emotions are not processed in the short term, it can cause adverse health effects that can affect farmers in the long term, such as sleeping troubles and digestion issues. 

"We can be more efficient in the long term if we turn toward what is present right now ... and maybe grieve what is present." 

Harmandeep Kaur, who owns a blueberry farm in Sumas Prairie with her husband, said the flooding has taken a mental toll on her family.