WITH Movember's support, CMHA PROGRAM RESILIENT MINDSTM WILL OPERATE THROUGH TO DECEMBER 2023 AND BENEFIT 4,000+ FIREFIGHTERS ACROSS ONTARIO
TORONTO, May 4, 2022 /CNW/ - This International Firefighters Day, Movember and the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Ontario Division are working to raise awareness for firefighter mental health by highlighting the newly Movember-funded CMHA Ontario program Resilient MindsTM. The program – which runs from April 2022 to December 2023 - is dedicated to building resilience within fire teams and services across Ontario by educating, empowering, and equipping firefighters with the skills and resources to grow and maintain psychosocial wellness in an otherwise stressful profession.
First responders have suffered in silence for years with little mental health support available. Firefighters specifically - who are often the first to arrive on an emergency scene – can be exposed to some of the greatest psychosocial risks of any occupation, with research showing that their role weighs heavily on their mental health. More than 18.000 Ontarians currently serve as volunteer firefighters, and many of them work in small or rural regions, facing greater structural barriers to mental health care (e.g., cost, availability of resources).
Resilient MindsTM is a peer-to-peer training program designed by firefighters for firefighters and is available to both professional and volunteer fire departments across Ontario. The skill-building training supports prevention and recovery from trauma and psychological distress, explores personal well-being, resilience, and post-traumatic growth. Fire departments can choose one of two options for program delivery: a Train-the-Trainer 24 hour course that certifies participants to become peer instructors and "mental health champions" within their departments; or a Resilient MindsTM course, an eight-hour training for firefighters within a department.
"The risks and responsibilities shouldered by firefighters have a significant impact on their well-being and on their families," said Camille Quenneville, Chief Executive Officer, CMHA Ontario. "This program encourages firefighters to recognize and respond to psychological injuries and trauma in the workplace, promoting a shift to a supportive, mentally fit culture."
"The lessons I learned through Resilient Minds were transformative," said Ottawa Fire Services Fire Fighter Kayla Musselman. "I learned techniques to care for my own mental health as well as support others in my department. The tools and resources provided in the training are invaluable."
Resilient MindsTM is one of four Canadian projects Movember has funded through the charity's Veterans and First Responders Mental Health Grant Program launched in late 2021, an initiative aimed at identifying and evaluating programs that positively impact mental health and aim to prevent suicide of veterans and first responders. For Resilient Minds, the Movember funding will go towards training peer instructors to deliver resources to their fire departments and adaptation of the program for other first responder communities (police and paramedics) in 2023. Resilient MindsTM will receive $423,000 in Movember funding by December 2023.
While still in its implementation phase, Resilient Minds executed its first delivery sessions in Ontario in February 2022 and over the course of the next few months, will expand to deliver a total of ten train the trainer' sessions and ten Resilient Minds courses only in2022.
You can learn more about Movember and the Movember Veterans and First Responder Grant initiative at Movember.com. To learn more about Resilient Minds please visit ontario.cmha.ca
About Movember:
Movember is the leading charity changing the face of men's health on a global scale, focusing on mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer. The charity raises funds to deliver innovative, breakthrough research and support programmes that enable men to live happier, healthier, and longer lives. Committed to disrupting the status quo, millions have joined the movement, helping fund over 1,250 projects around the world. In addition to tackling key health issues faced by men, Movember is working to encourage men to stay healthy in all areas of their life, with a focus on men staying socially connected and becoming more open to discussing their health and significant moments in their lives. The charity's vision is to have an everlasting impact on the face of men's health. To donate or learn more, please visit Movember.com.
About Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario Division
Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Ontario is a not-for-profit, charitable organization funded by the provincial Ministry of Health. We work to improve the lives of all Ontarians through leadership, collaboration, and continual pursuit of excellence in community-based mental health and addictions services. Our vision is a society that embraces and invests in the mental health of all people. We are a trusted advisor to government, contributing to health systems development through policy formulation and recommendations that promote positive mental health. To donate or learn more, please visit ontario.cmha.ca
Note to Editors:
Movember strongly encourages the inclusion of appropriate help-seeking information for stories about suicide and poor mental health. For crisis support at any time, day or night, we encourage Canadians to reach out to one of the following services: Suicide Prevention Service (Toll Free: 1-833-456-4566 - ENG, 1-866-277-3553 – FR) or the Kids Help Phone (1-800-668-6868). For more help-seeking information, visit Movember.com/GetSupport.
SOURCE Movember Canada
Press Contacts: Movember Canada, Jo-Anne Stayner, [email protected], +1 604-603-0657, CMHA Ontario, Mike Feenstra , [email protected], 416-203-0427
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