Hard Times Come To Us All

Coober Pedy is a special place for Black Dog Riders. A welcome sight and a home away from home during our annual Ride to the Red Centre.

Coober Pedy is no different from so many regional towns however, in that isolation, difficult economic times and poor funding for mental health resources can take it's toll on community members.

Jenni Morley, who featured in the 2010 Black Dog Ride documentary you'll find here, is a community mental health worker striving to make a real difference in this unique outback town. During the recent Opal Festival, Jenni and her colleagues put the spotlight on raising awareness of depression and encourage locals to seek support if they're going through a rough time.

Utilising a unique approach for this unique town, Jenni entered a float in the street parade with the theme of Depression Recovery and co-opted a local who is recovering from depression to design the exceptional and eye catching artwork.

Jenni says, "Depression awareness is so vital to outback communities. We used pieces from old vehicles as an eye catching base for our message and an broken down bike as a symbol of tough times."

"The idea for the float was to encourage people to get help early if depressed. Too many locals are embarrassed about this issue and get to crisis level before getting medical or other assistance."

The Depression Recovery float was extremely well received and Jenni says they'll be using this approach again next year.

Take a look at Coober Pedy's incomparable street float on Depression Recovery, below. Click on the images to view larger, send a message of support to our friends in Coober Pedy here.