Leading men’s health charity Movember, in partnership with The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride (DGR) has pledged to support initiatives providing mental health support for first responders across multiple countries.
The initiative includes a beginning investment of over 4.3 million over the next two years, supporting First Responder initiatives in Canada and the US, New Zealand, Ireland, the UK and Australia.
The announcement follows an independent multi-country review commissioned by Movember and conducted by Dr. Donald McCreary in 2019, which revealed a lack of publicly available evidence of the overall effectiveness and co-ordination of existing programs to support the needs of this group.
“First responders are on the front line of our community each day, and they are also disproportionately affected by suicide and mental health issues, given they are likely to be exposed to various workplace stressors throughout their careers, including regular traumatic events,” Movember Global Director of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Brendan Maher said.
“We’re proud to be providing support to these groups of men in the community, along with their families through our grants funding program, and to build evidence around approaches and programs that truly make a difference. We’re also grateful for the collaboration offered by our program partner, The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride.”
“Many riders that participate in the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride have either served in the military or work in front line emergency response. We appreciate the risks they’ve taken, the sacrifices they’ve made and the impact that has had on their own mental health and wellbeing. It makes me really proud that the funds we’ve raised for Movember will help deliver support and services for this unique group of individuals.” Mark Hawwa, Founder, The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride.
The review, spanning Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland and the UK involved assessing scientific research available on early intervention and prevention programs in the general workforce and amongst veteran and first responder organizations.
Applications for grants are open until November 23, 2020. For more information about the grants program, eligibility and process, visit movember.com/vfrgrants
