New research confirms mental health benefits of Fortem programs
The role social connection can play in supporting the personal impact of frontline disaster response on Australia’s first responders was the topic of a poster presentation given by Fortem at the recent AFAC 25 conference in Perth.
The poster outlined how social connection activities can benefit first responders and their families by reducing stigma around mental health, connect communities, raise awareness of support services and encourage help-seeking behaviours.
It’s a formula Fortem continues to use to support the first responder community, and was recently proven to benefit health and wellbeing, improve awareness of mental health and wellbeing and strengthen social networks.
In addition to presenting the poster, Fortem’s CEO Michael Willing APM took part in a panel discussion on the importance of first responder mental health and wellbeing, with a focus on family support. Hosted by Fujitsu Australia, the panel also featured a former police officer and fire fighter from NSW, and a serving volunteer fire fighter from the United States.
Fortem also hosted an information booth on Resilience Lane, provided in-kind by the NRMA as part of the conference.
You can view the poster presented at AFAC 25 below.