Bourke's best - Envoys Lloyd and Vicki Graham

Present day heroes include Envoys Lloyd and Vicki Graham, The Salvation Army’s rural chaplains based in Bourke. For the past seven years they have supported countless property owners.

With so many years of drought and now having it come back again, a lot of people’s resources have just been stretched beyond coping, says Lloyd. So we come alongside them, helping them with practical assistance around the house or the farm, and just ease their emotional burdens by listening and caring. We also distribute drought assistance where we can.

And despite the fact that, now, more than ever, Australians have the technology to connect with each other through social media, the internet and satellite communication, Envoys Lloyd and Vicki say social isolation is still a huge issue in the outback.

A lot of people say to us that just having someone to talk to and to listen to them makes a difference. They just want to be able to vent or just share their feelings with someone so just being able to go to their homes and sit with them is really important.