Movember supporting peer-based mental health program for firefighters

Movember isn’t just about prostate cancer anymore. Donations to the annual mustache-growing fundraiser also help fund critical mental health programs, including one called “Resilient Minds” — developed by and for firefighters.

The peer support program started in Vancouver in 2016, and has since expanded across the country. It’s designed to help firefighters recognize and respond to trauma and psychological distress.

Steve Fraser, the Captain of Mental Health and Wellness for Vancouver Fire and Rescue, says the program is more crucial now than ever given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“One of the things that we do know, that really bolsters our resiliency is social support. That’s been one of those things that I think we all kind of took for granted, that’s been kind of taken away from us. We don’t have the same opportunities to be able to have those social supports around us,” he explains.

“It has been tough. When we first started to go down this road with COVID, We didn’t realize the impact it would have on us mentally.  It’s been stressful for everybody, not just our firefighters but for the people that we’re responding to as well. Right now, we’re in a tough time and we have been for a couple of years.”

The basic premise is to build “literacy” around mental health and wellness.

“People are learning skills and learning about the reaction to trauma, and the reaction to high levels of stress, and realizing that, ‘Oh boy, I am living with some of these conditions that are a result of that, and I need to take some action to try to improve that, to try to change that,'” Fraser says.

The program promotes a shift away from stigmatizing people who are struggling, and Fraser says it’s been successful.

“Things have really changed. Gone are the days of ‘Just suck it up.’ Gone are the days of just being tough and pretending things don’t bother us.”

An infusion of funding from Movember will help the program expand, bringing it to more fire departments and adapting it to work for other first responders like police and paramedics. Fraser says the partnership makes a lot of sense.

“We all grow our mustaches this time of year and poke fun at one another, at how goofy we look. But it’s always had an impact within the fire service and within first responders in general, whether it be cancers, or whether it be mental health,” he says.

“Investing in programs like this where we’re providing education and tools to help people recognize when they’re struggling, and then to take actions to mitigate those struggles is so important.”