STORIES
Fortem Australia is a not-for-profit organisation that supports the mental fitness and wellbeing of first responder families. Every day, more than 300,000 first responders keep our communities safe. They are backed up by their families: partners, children and parents. All of them hold vital and challenging roles. We help them to be well, and stay well, through mental fitness, support services and wellbeing activities. These are their stories.
First Responder Story: ‘There are little triggers that still set off memories of the fires’
I started volunteering with the RFS just before the fires hit last summer – talk about being thrown into the deep end! A friend who was already in the brigade
A jam-packed World Mental Health Day for first responder families
To mark World Mental Health Day, we held a range of wellbeing activities in various locations over the weekend. Take a look at what our first responder families got up
Fortem welcomes Graham Ashton as Board Chair
Fortem Australia is honoured to welcome Graham Ashton as our Board Chair. Graham is the former Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police and Deputy Commissioner of Australian Federal Police. ‘Graham was
Dumplings and spring rolls on the menu in virtual cooking class
Excitement levels were high for 18 Victorian first responder families, who had been looking forward to their online cooking class all week. For some, it was their first online cooking
It’s one year since we launched! Here’s what we’ve achieved, thanks to you.
When we launched in October last year, we had no idea of the challenges we’d face in 2020 – and we can all agree that it’s been a big year.
10 Little Ways To Look After Yourself Today
Today is World Mental Health Day, a great reminder that we all need to take care of ourselves in order to be well – not just today, but every day. Here are
Family story: ‘Why I involve the whole household in our fire evacuation plan’
It was when we returned home that the tears began. “You should have told me we were leaving because of a fire,” she said. “I didn’t get a chance to take
First responders impress with the perfect steak
It’s a classic – but it’s rarely done well. Steak is notoriously difficult to master: it’s so often too rare, too dry, too tough, or cooked for far too long.
‘Be in the moment’: 3 small talk tips from our workshop
There’s nothing small about small talk. It’s what starts conversations, and many great friendships and relationships have started with a chat about the weather. In this two-part virtual workshop, a
