CORES Queensland has been saving lives in the Burdekin for over 16 years. The organisation—run largely by volunteers—offers a wide range of mental health and suicide prevention services, quietly operating as the heartbeat of the community. Though, if you ask CORES Queensland Coordinator Ross Romeo, he’ll tell you it’s the other way around.
“The Burdekin community are the backbone of our program,” he says. “They are the reason we’ve survived all these years—we’re just so grateful.”
The CORES banner was first raised in rural Tasmania in 2003. It’s introduction to the mainland came in 2008, when Giru farmer Peter Shadforth saw a segment about CORES on TV, sparking the idea to launch the program in the Burdekin.
Since then, the program has evolved to offer counselling services, workplace training, self-care workshops and school presentations, among other forms of suicide prevention education.
Ross Romeo, a former cane farmer who’s been heavily involved in the program since its introduction to the region, says it brings him great joy to connect with and support the local community.
“I enjoy connecting with the community and helping people to learn,” he says. “When you run a workshop or do training and someone comes up to you and says ‘I got something out of that’—that makes it all worthwhile.”
For Ross and CORES, it’s all about everyone playing their part to support each other.
“We’re just one piece of the puzzle. There are so many people in the Burdekin doing great things—not just supporting us,” he says.
“They’re connecting people together in all these different ways, with all the groups and sports clubs—that, to me, is suicide prevention, because they’re supporting people and connecting people together, and that’s probably one of the biggest parts of the puzzle.”
CORES remains committed to educating Queensland in the future, with plans to extend their services further north.
“The long-term goal is to continue supporting the community, reinforcing where we already are as well as exploring opportunities to go into new areas if it’s possible,” says Romeo.
“We’ve recently started pushing further north, starting to deliver training around the Mossman and Daintree area, and we’re gonna head up to Cooktown and further north as well,” he added.
While growth is part of the plan, the heart of the program remains unchanged.
For Ross Romeo and CORES, it’s never been about the plaudits—it's about finding ways to give back to the community that have supported them so generously.
“We always say—even if we help at least one person, that’s more than worth it.”
For Ross and CORES, it’s all about everyone playing their part to support each other. Photo supplied
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