The Pinnaroo Project is a creative, community-wide, health improvement project that has been established by Mallee Arts and the community to address the lack of locally available health services in regional communities in that region of SA and measure the impact of the interventions. The Project aims to improve the health and wellbeing of residents through community engagement and participation in various art and cultural activities over a two-to-three-year period.
A research team from Flinders University is managing the research component of the project. Health data is being collected from the Pinnaroo residents at the beginning, during and at the end of the project.
Like many regional towns, Pinnaroo has limited access to health services, with only one local nurse practitioner and visiting doctors, meaning residents seeking additional services must drive more than 120 km to the likes of Berri in the Riverland or Murray Bridge. Appointments with medical specialists often require trips to Adelaide, three hours away.
Their Pinnaroo Connections project received a $20,000 In a Good Place grant from FRRR, co-funded by the Macdoch Foundation and the Morris Family Foundation, to address the issues of isolation and depression. A series of three events (one for men; another for women; and one for the whole community) aimed to normalise conversations around mental health and strengthen social and emotional health and wellbeing. A focus was both to increase social connections and to educate people around prevention and support strategies and ultimately to create new dialogues around health discussion and self-help.
So far, two events have been held – the women’s Sunday Funday and the very successful men’s burger night, which attracted 90 men, aged between 18 and 85, who gathered at the Pinnaroo Cricket shed for an informal men’s get together. A panel of local farmers, a medical health professional and people with lived mental health experience shared stories of resilience and getting help for mental health issues.
The organisers were thrilled with the turnout, saying that it was a fabulous event.
“The vibe was great and just what they needed, given the tough drought conditions our district is facing. While the speakers were doing their thing you could have heard a pin drop!”
The whole of community event is scheduled for March 2025.
