READ OUR 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.
When life delivers a paella pan, learn to cook paella!
It isn’t every day that you’d have a paella pan – as well as a heap of beautiful seafood and other ingredients – delivered to your door. Then again, it
First Responder Story: ‘I chose to be a volunteer, and it’s my family who should be thanked’
As a volunteer firefighter, I can be called away for short emergencies, or for five- to seven-day deployments. Suddenly, my wife – who works full-time – is left taking care of
Circumnavigate Tasmania (virtually) for charity
First responders have protected our communities from bushfires and many other disasters. This November, there’s a new way to support them and their families. Cycle a virtual circumnavigation of Tasmania
5 ways to make social media better for your health
It’s been suspected for a while that social media isn’t good for our mental health. There is growing evidence, though, that it’s not as black-and-white as that. As it turns
Rock climbing offers a chance to connect, be active, and more
Illawarra first responder families – kids and adults alike – had a great evening of rock climbing last weekend. The evening started with everyone arriving at the climbing gym for
Family Story: ‘The way my partner talks about his job is really confronting’
My partner had been a police officer for several years when we met. Having been through some traumatic experiences in my life, I loved that I could tell him about
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
Ride Around Kangaroo Island (virtually) with us
Fortem has come together with two Australian entities, Maglia Nera Cycling Tours and GoCycle to create a virtual riding platform for not-for-profit organisations. The new ‘Charity’ feature, added to the already existent
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.
