Paul Anning named Plantagenet Community Citizen of the Year for mental health awareness

Tireless work in fundraising and increasing awareness of mental health in the community since 2018 has paved the way for Paul Anning being named the Shire of Plantagenet’s Citizen of the Year. A packed Frost Pavilion applauded Mr Anning as he accepted the honour on Friday morning during the shire’s Australia Day ceremony. Ethan Aylmore was named Young Community Citizen of the Year and Anne Forbes was awarded Senior Community Citizen of the Year. Shire president Len Handasyde presented all three awards. Ms Forks said she was “gobsmacked” by her award and thanked the community. Awards for service to the community were presented by Department of Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm. After battling with his own mental health struggles, Mr Anning was on a walk one day when he came up with the idea to use exercise to help raise money and awareness at the same time. “I wanted to help other people who are struggling with mental illness or mental health as I nearly took my own life in 2018,” he said. “I wanted to change the stigma around it to stop people from suffering in silence. “So we did a walk from Albany to Mt Barker to raise some money and that went well, and the next year we did it we raised $20,000. “I thought this is pretty cool, we’re raising a lot of awareness as well by holding a lot of community events and things like that to raise money.” In 2022, Mr Anning set off for a 2500km journey across WA to raise money and awareness for mental health, and to encourage people to speak up if they find themselves in a dark place. He raised $58,000 for Lifeline, Beyond Blue and Royal Flying Doctor Service. “Last year we shifted to more community-based stuff, and we’ve donated to just about every community group we can find in town,” he said. “Now we’re just trying to raise awareness for those struggling to speak up, hopefully, I can try and change that stigma about not speaking out. Mr Anning said the recognition from the award is good but so is raising awareness and funds for the benefit of the community. “Hopefully what we do puts a smile on someone’s face, if we can change someone’s day and save a life that’s all that matters to me.”