On October 3 29 cyclists will hop on their bikes in Brisbane and pedal 1237 kilometres to Longreach to raise funds for regional Queenslanders requiring mental health support.
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RideWest is a biennial charity ride which raises funds for the Wellbeing Out West program, an initiative of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland Section).
2020 marks the 10th anniversary of the charity and the 6th ride the team have undertaken, raising more than $1 million dollars for mental health services for regional areas.
"2020 has certainly been a challenging year for all of us, but now more than ever we want to be able to support regional Aussies doing it tough and be able to give back what we can to support a great program run by the Royal Flying Doctor Service," John Sloman, Director RideWest.
Last year the Wellbeing Out West program helped the RFDS to provide mental health support to more than 7500 people across Western Queensland via free education sessions and counselling and support services.
"We want to save lives through early intervention. Get the word out. Make it normal. Make it accessible. Make it quality. The funds raised by RideWest are the backbone of this program," said Dr Tim Driscoll, Clinical Lead - Outback Mental Health, RFDS (Queensland Section).
All the riders have their own reason for riding.
Greg Kelly, Director of Hall Chadwick QLD, who is undertaking the ride for the first time this year, said: he had a grazier client who took his life.
"I found that unbelievable. He was a methodical guy. Everything was in order. What led him to the point where he walked out into a paddock with a gun? That's hard to reconcile. Where was he at in that moment?" Mr Kelly said.
"This ride is not only about raising funding for mental health support but raising awareness too. We need to make the conversation normal, it's okay to not be okay."
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