Although we haven’t met for a fortnight, that’s not to say a lot been happening.
Angelo’s fantastic effort in co-ordinating a number of Clubs and individuals to donate to the Timor Leste Flood Relief Appeal. Starting off with an initial donation of $10,000, a further $12,000 is now in the pipeline
Sue and Mark’s hard work with the Dementia Café at the Crow’s Nest Community Centre has finally paid off, with the first session taking place a week ago. Due to COVID this has been delayed more than a year, however with the co-ordination involving a number of other Clubs in our area all goes well for a bright future.
Congratulations to George and Jo Condell for hosting Club Members at our second Social Evening for the year last Monday night at Bilgola Beach. Although numbers were less than anticipated, all those who attended thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Over $1100 were cleared at last Saturday’s BBQ. The morning session was incredibly busy, with backup supplies required for the afternoon shift which was a tad more subdued.
Fascinating talk by our Guest Speaker, Louise Murphy on Monday. Louise is a Churchill Fellow and Founder of Australian First Responders Foundation, talking of the mental challenges faced by a high percentage of First Responders. A real eye opener.
We still are continuing to rotate every 2nd week between Zoom & Union Hotel.
Last Meeting Monday: 3rd May 2021 our speaker was Louise Murphy of AFRF.
Louise Murphy of the Australian First Responders Foundation (AFRF) gave us information on First Responder’s mental health issues which surprised many of us.
Whilst 1 in 5 of us experience a mental health issue, that increases to 1 in 3 for first responders. On a regular basis they deal with terrible situations with often no time between calls to debrief/talk about the trauma. There are 380,000 first responder in NSW, with 240,000 of those are volunteers from organisations like SES, St Johns, RFS & Surf lifesaving. There has been an increase in their suicides since the bushfires. (Every 4.3 weeks there is a suicide)
Louise used a Churchill Fellowship to visit countries like USA, Canada & UK to learn about what they do to address these concerns, before starting AFRF. Its vision is to have a world of responsive & mentally healthy first responders. Promote well-being to reduce mental health issues & suicides. “Who is looking after those who are looking after us.”
AFRF offers corporate training & weekend retreats for 1st responders. The First Responder Emergency Service Health and Education Retreat (FRESHER) incorporates a solid program specifically designed to reconnect, reframe, and reset the participants with their peers in a positive, supportive approach to their mental health and well-being. The first retreat is 6th to 8th of August. It is evidence based, and nominations open soon. It is not designed to treat mental illness, but focus on early intervention. Topics include communication skills, connecting after an incident, staying calm as well as sleep & exercise.
Louise asks that we share her vision & raise awareness and we would like to thank her for an extremely informative & thought-provoking session.
