Leanne Staniforth says her husband, John, was suffering in silence before his death by suicide.
Now she is raising her voice in an effort to promote mental health awareness in her rural community and help others speak out if they need support.
“I call it the silent killer because John didn’t want people to know and he hid it,”
she said.
Mr Staniforth died in February 2025.
Married for 37 years, Mrs Staniforth’s tears welled as she described the impact of her husband’s death, with whom she raised five sons.
“He’s missed dearly,” she said.
“His boys have lost their hero. It’s broken our hearts.”
John Staniforth was an active member of the rural community of Tallimba. (ABC News: Emily Doak)
A farmer from Talimba in southern NSW, Mr Staniforth was active in his community.
“He put everyone at ease, loved to encourage the young people and being a shearer from a very young age, he could just connect with everybody,” she said.
But behind the outgoing demeanour, Mrs Staniforth noticed changes in her husband’s behaviour.
“Going out in public, being everyone’s mate, laughing and smiling, then coming home and being absolutely exhausted but unable to sleep,” she said.
“He couldn’t do the 16-hour days that he would usually do out in the paddocks and he was beating himself up because he felt that he was letting everyone down.”
He sought help from a general practitioner, but had to travel more than five hours from the family farm for specialist treatment in Sydney.
“He had three admissions … with different types of treatments to try and stop the head noise and to make him comfortable,” she said.
“He hated every second of being away and all he wanted was to get home.”
The Staniforths’ experience is not uncommon.
Inequity in regional mental health care
Executive director of the Black Dog Institute, Samuel Harvey said it was much more difficult for people experiencing mental health symptoms in regional and remote areas to get help.
“We just don’t have enough mental health professionals across Australia, but even the number that we do have are not distributed evenly, they’re clustered in metropolitan areas,” Professor Harvey said.
Samuel Harvey says there is a need to build the capacity of rural health professionals to deliver new mental health treatments. (Supplied: Black Dog Institute)
“One of the things we’re trying to do at Black Dog Institute is to empower the medical professionals that are there in the local communities, the GPs and nurses, to be able to deliver the best and newest treatments for mental health.
“We have been pushing in New South Wales for statewide services for conditions like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, [which] are common conditions that we now have really good treatments for.”
The New South Wales Budget, delivered last week, included more than $112 million for mental health, including $43 million for crisis support through Lifeline.
Professor Harvey said it was estimated that mental health conditions accounted for 15 per cent of the state’s burden of ill-health, but the sector is chronically under-funded, receiving less than 5 per cent of the health budget.
Mr Staniforth’s death has sparked community driven action to raise awareness of mental health, including the ‘Riverina Ramblers project’, which aims to encourage connection and break down the stigma around depression in eight small towns.
Leanne Staniforth says they had to travel to Sydney to access specialist treatment for her husband. (ABC News: Emily Doak)
In the absence of specialised services, Mrs Staniforth has also looked for ways to support her community.
“Although we’re a tight-knit community, it feels so lonely being here with someone that is struggling,”
she said.
“Other people are struggling as well and fighting this silent illness on their own because, growing up, mental health was always a taboo subject.”
She approached the Ardlethan Show Society to host a screening of the film “Just a Farmer”, which explores some of the pressures of farming and the impact of a farmer’s suicide.
Organisers hope the film screening will encourage people to talk about mental health. (ABC News: Emily Doak)
On a chilly night in June, more than 140 people came together to share a meal, watch the film and talk about mental health.
The film’s writer and producer, Leila McDougall, was in Ardlethan for the screening, one or more than 170 similar community events since its release in 2024.
“It takes the audience on an emotional journey … they’ve felt all these heavy emotions … and it makes them realise it’s ok to feel gutted at times and to cry,” Ms McDougall said.
Ardlethan Show Society secretary, Sue Horan, said after years of drought it was a timely opportunity to talk about mental health.
“We’re hoping this will bring a little bit of awareness to let them [farmers] know that there are people they can lean on and that they’re not going through those struggles alone.”
Sue Horan says community organisations and local businesses chipped in to help fund the film screening. (ABC News: Emily Doak)
Mrs Staniforth said she hoped the conversations sparked by the event would continue.
“If we’re a little bit more mindful, maybe we can notice and start that conversation because it could save a life,”
she said.
