The NSW State Emergency Service Volunteers Association (NSW SESVA) is pleased to inform you of the roll out of the ground-breaking First Responder Resilience Program (FRRP).
The training program targets both local first responder and community members involved in disaster response and recovery and will be conducted in 31 NSW Local Government Areas most heavily impacted by the Black Summer Fires. The program will be rolled out over the next 12 months.
Funded by the Federal Government Black Summer Bushfire Grant Scheme, the training aims to give back to those who have given so much, with a vision to minimise mental ill-health suffering in the future. To realise this vision, FRRP offers a new and innovative approach to mental health resilience training, built on the cornerstones of empowering frontline emergency/community leadership and preventing, rather than treating, psychological injury.
The program will be delivered by the NSW SESVA in partnership with The Ordinary Courage Foundation, a leading mental health workplace consultancy specialising in the emergency services.
FRRP is an evidence-based and customised training program – co-designed by frontline leaders, to fill an important gap in first response safety by providing ‘psychological armour’ to emergency responders as well as other community leaders involved in disaster recovery. FRRP will empower leaders to connect and engage with their teams, with a view of enhancing psychological resilience to future traumatic events and to build social capital at the community level.
All first responders and community leaders are welcome to attend.
The one-day program is free to attend with lunch and refreshments being provided.
To register to attend one of our FRRP in your region, visit keep up to date on course availability and locations, visit CURRENT COURSES | SESVAevents
Testimonials
Just a quick email to express my appreciation to the NSW SES Volunteers Assn for presenting the First Responder Resilience Training on Saturday 22 July 23.
WOW,,, words fail me... where to begin, Mental health and associated issues especially as it presents in Emergency Service operatives as well as in the general community is a difficult subject. The course presented by Paul Scott a world renowned expert in this field delivered a practical course that helped us all better understand mental health issues as well as giving attendees the courage to seek help when needed as well as giving us the skills & strength to identify when colleagues may need assistance.
I highly recommend this course to provide you with a great incite into the mental health, in fact the course is another essential piece of PPE, for both your First Responder roles and to support your whole of life experiences.
Bruce Henderson
Volunteer NSW Parks................................................................
Over the past year, I have attended a number of workshops and even undertaken university study around resilience, so when the opportunity came up to attend a Resilience Program - Empowerment to Connect run by Ordinary Courage in partnership with the NSW SES Volunteers Association for first responders, attending seemed a no-brainer.
There is currently a lot of hype around resilience and it has become a new buzzword, when that happens it's not always a great thing. I have attended resilience workshops, that have really been mindfulness workshops, not resilience, so I to be honest I was a bit skeptical when I attended this one. I wondered what spin would be put on resilience.
I was very pleasantly surprised, the facilitator and his team skillfully took us on a journey to discover how to start using our psychological PPE, how to reach in, not just reach out.
My only hope is that there are more workshops of this quality available to the wider community, it really takes courage and skill to reach out in the ordinary world.
Sandie O
