Embrace FARM launches one-to-one mentoring programme 'Encircle'

Initiative will support farmers and families in the aftermath of a farm accident, suspected suicide, sudden trauma or fatal illness

At the launch of the new Embrace FARM Encircle programme were: Tom Canning, ACA; Aisling Meehan, agricultural solicitor; Norma Rohan, Embrace FARM; Eimear Kelly, Embrace FARM counsellor; and David Leydon, Ifac. Picture: Finbarr O'Rourke

Embrace FARM has this week launched a new one-to-one mentoring programme to support farmers and families in the aftermath of a farm accident, suspected suicide, sudden trauma or fatal illness.

Titled 'Encircle', the programme will include a countrywide panel of professional mentors covering the legal, financial, agri and emotional issues that individuals and families contend with in the aftermath of these sudden situations.

The programme is being funded by the European Innovation Partnership scheme through the Department of Agriculture.

According to the Health and Safety Authority, there have been more than 200 farm-related deaths in Ireland over the last 10 years and many more accidents, with 113 serious accidents recorded in 2021 alone.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Martin Heydon said as work continues on improving farm safety and reducing the number of serious and fatal incidents on Irish farms, it is "equally important" that families affected by sudden traumas are supported.

Mr Heydon said the programme would "enable Embrace FARM to build on that work".

"As we are all unfortunately too aware, a farm tragedy can present a range of potential issues for families," Mr Heydon said. 

"That is why I have no doubt the one-to-one tailored support will be invaluable to those who need it.”

The programme has been developed by a dedicated operational group which is led by Embrace FARM, and the programme supports are informed by industry specialists including Ifac, Aisling Meehan Agricultural Solicitors, the Agricultural Consultants Association, Rural Support, and the HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention.

Panel of mentors

Norma Rohan, general manager and co-founder of Embrace FARM said the panel of mentors has been carefully selected "to cater to the many complex issues facing families and individuals who have been impacted in the aftermath of a farm accident or suspected suicide". 

"Once someone contacts us, we will work with them to figure out what they need, and in what order of priority, and from there we will match them with the right professional mentors who can support them where they need help the most, whether it be legal, emotional, financial or general support with the overall operation of a farming business," Ms Rohan explained. 

Since its inception in 2014 by Ms Rohan and her husband Brian, Embrace FARM has supported more than 285 farm families in the aftermath of a serious farm accident or fatality. 

Having lost Mr Rohan's father Liam in a traumatic farm accident in 2012, the family knew from first-hand experience there was a growing need for support in this area, they said.

“There were hundreds of people here over the weekend of the funeral and then they stopped calling and we were left to ourselves to run the farm. There was no mention of dad," Mr Rohan recalled.

"People kind of got back to their own lives and forgot about him so we wanted to find a way to remember our loved ones killed in farm accidents. 

We got calls and emails from other families all over the country, and some of them were in worse states than others with no wills in place, or mortgages on farms and no life cover, and that type of thing."

Embrace FARM will continue to offer its peer-to-peer support services in conjunction with the Encircle programme. 

Its annual ecumenical remembrance service takes place in Abbeyleix, Co Laois, on Sunday, June 26.