Komatsu diesel fitter receives $10k grant to continue bullying advocacy

Diesel fitter, Amy Liddle, is also a mental health and anti-bullying advocate with more than 40,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram.

She has recently been rewarded for her tireless efforts to address mental health challenges, suicide prevention and bullying with a $10,000 grant from her employer, Komatsu.

The grant, in addition to volunteer assistance from Komatsu co-workers, will allow Amy to deliver Dolly’s Dream workshops to school students, teachers and parents about online safety through its Connect program. The programs teach young people good internet behavior and, importantly, helps them learn how to deal with bad behavior.

The workshops are named in honour of teenager Amy ‘Dolly’ Everett, who took her own life in 2018.

After losing three of her close friends to suicide in 2020, as well as related stories of tragedy across her social media news feeds, Amy says she felt compelled to act.

“Mental health struggles can impact everyone, at any age. I feel passionate about this issue and use my channels to reinforce this and create a safe place for people to share their struggles,” Amy said.

“I remind people that it’s okay not to be okay – it’s a bad day, not a bad life, and things will get better.”

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According to research from The Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health (CRRMH), suicide rates are 50 per cent higher in rural communities than in major cities.

Dolly’s Dream is committed to changing the culture of bullying by increasing understanding of the impact of bullying, anxiety, depression and youth suicide and by providing support to parents.

Liddle has now started visiting local schools within her regional Queensland community of Mackay and surrounds to help share the critical Dolly’s Dream messages.

She will be attending Sarina State High School, Mirani State High School and Calen District State College, and also plans to visit Moranbah State High School in the new year.

“By being granted the $10,000 to support Dolly’s Dream, I’m able to support kids, adults and their families and communities in the hard times,” Amy said.

“This will provide so many people with the resources they need to gain more knowledge on the impact of bullying and mental health issues. It will give people a safe space to talk to someone.”