Vikki’s sibling tribute sends mental health reminder
Another blue tree pops up at our Whyalla operations
Inspiration and comfort can come from the most special, and sometimes surprising, places as steelworks rail plant crane driver Vikki Simunovic discovered recently.
Vikki lost her brother when he took his life 15 years ago and she still struggles, at times, to come to terms with his passing. While you never really “get over” this type of loss, it is often family, friends, work colleagues and support services that can help ease the pain.
This was the case recently when Vikki’s stepsister and her 10-year-old son Chayse came to visit in Whyalla. On the long drive from Brisbane, Vikki’s nephew Chayse started noticing brightly painted blue trees at various points along the trip.
Vikki’s conversations with me about why it means a lot to her are powerful and a great reminder of why reaching out and having a conversation, or checking in, is so important
Rail Allocation Despatch Leader, Lewis Jones
Jumping on the net for a bit of research, Chayse discovered the Blue Tree Project, an initiative that encourages individuals, groups and even businesses to paint a tree blue to spark conversations that positively transform attitudes towards mental health.
“Chayse looked it up in the car on the way down and told me all about the Blue Tree Project when they got here,” Vikki said.
“I hadn’t heard about it before but I wish more of this sort of initiative had been around when my brother passed … when he was suffering from mental health problems it just wasn’t something you talked about.
“Seeing what the Blue Tree Project is about has inspired me to do something, to start the conversation about mental health and get the word out that talking can change everything.”
Further enlisting the family, Vikki’s daughter Caitlin helped put together a Blue Tree poster that now is now hung proudly in the rail plant crib room while there are plans to wrap a nearby tree in blue hessian and create a blue tree out of scrap metal.
“It was the anniversary of my brother’s passing recently and this project not only helps me personally, it helps raise awareness of this issue in our workplace
Vikki Simunovic
It will be the third blue tree project at OneSteel Manufacturing (Administrators Appointed) operations with two painted trees already established at our iron ore mining sites.
“It was the anniversary of my brother’s passing recently and this project not only helps me personally, it helps raise awareness of this issue in our workplace,” Vikki said.
“There are always pressures with things like shift work, family pressures and our own wellbeing, so we need to give people the confidence to start the conversation about mental health and start talking about what we might be experiencing.
“If it gets just one person talking about mental health and starts just one conversation, it will all be worth it.”
Rail Allocation Despatch Leader, Lewis Jones praised the work Vikki has already done and congratulated her on kick starting the project in the rail plant.
“Vikki’s conversations with me about why it means a lot to her are powerful and a great reminder of why reaching out and having a conversation, or checking in, is so important,” Lewis said.
“The poster made by Vikki’s daughter looks brilliant and we’re now working on putting the blue hessian on the tree.
“This is a great initiative that will create important conversations about mental health.”
For more information on the Blue Tree Project go to Home – Blue Tree Project
Main picture and top right: Vikki Simunovic with the poster created by her daughter. Above right: Vikki with the newly-created blue tree outside the rail plant offices.
