There are 16 NSW residents nominated for the 2022 NSW Australian of the Year Awards.
They are competing in four categories; Australian of the Year, Young Australian, Senior Australian, and Local Hero.
Maules Creek’s Shanna Whan has been selected and is the only rural finalist in the fourth category for her efforts in founding Sober in the Country (SITC).
SITC was registered as a national charity in 2019, but Shanna began the conversation seven years ago, with the goal of creating social change and awareness around how people discuss alcohol in rural Australia.
After almost losing her life to alcohol addiction in 2015, she fought back from the brink and vowed to help other vulnerable Australians.
Mrs Whan says the core message of her charity is in teaching our mates in the country to understand that it’s always okay to say no to a drink.
“Living in the bush, you quickly learn how serious an impact alcohol has on the community,” she said.
“In fact, alcohol harm lies at the heart of almost all our rural health issues.
“The thing is – SITC isn’t about telling people what to do, it’s focused rather on asking rural people to step up and be better supporters of their friends who choose not to drink.”
The organisation began as volunteer work to help others in the local area, but now has a national reach and reputation and works across peer support, broadscale advocacy and education.
It took Mrs Whan 20,000 relentless volunteer hours to establish the charity, and today, she is invited to travel across Australia to take the positive messaging into various communities.
“I have been very blessed to share the charity work and back story across multiple national media platforms for about five years – and there is no doubt that one of the most impactful ways we can educate communities is from a grassroots, real, raw, lived-experience perspective,” she said.
Mrs Whan was humbled to learn she’d been selected as a finalist for the upcoming awards, and hopes her nomination will shine more of a spotlight on issues related to alcohol abuse in regional Australia.
“SITC has made a big dent in the conversation, but the subject deserves far more attention,” she said.
“Better funding, acknowledgement and support from rural leaders in positions of influence and politics is needed to propel further change.
“So I hope, if anything, this nomination is further proof of the urgency and need in this continually overlooked area of rural health.”
The winners will be revealed at a ceremony on Monday, November 15 in Sydney.
The Courier wishes Mrs Whan all the best for the upcoming announcement.
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