Len Eadon: Parents of young farmer in mental health plea
BBCThe parents of a young farmer have called for mental health awareness to be a compulsory part of the agricultural studies curriculum.
Student Len Eadon, 22, from Napton, Warwickshire, took his own life on New Year's Day in 2022.
His parents, Andy and Lynda, say they had no idea he was struggling.
They are supporting a campaign from the Farm Safety Foundation to raise awareness of the number of people in the industry who end their lives.
Mrs Eadon, a sheep farmer, said: "It was so shocking, what happened. Nobody expected it - us, myself and Andrew, the least."
Mrs Eadon said her son knew others who had committed suicide.
"He always used to say to us, 'mum, I don't understand how anyone could do that. I don't understand how they can get to that point'.
"The shock of it and the shock that went through the community made us realise, or made me realise very, very early on, within a day really, I couldn't just sit and try and wallow in the grief.
"We had to do something positive."
The family have since raised thousands of pounds for charity in his memory and produced a five-point challenge to encourage others in the community to look out for one another.
Mr Eadon said: "I just came up with the idea to do a checklist, so people could be aware of how they actually were, but also the people around them.
"The golden rule is if you ask somebody 'are you OK today?', if you're not convinced with their answer, ask the question again."
The Farm Safety Foundation is running its annual Mind Your Head campaign this week.
The foundation surveyed more than 400 farmers under the age of 40 about the challenges they faced and 94% said poor mental health was one of the biggest hidden problems in the industry.
Mr Eadon added: "Reach out, because everybody's got a value.
"They need to be aware that they need to look after themselves for the benefit of others."
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