Victoria’s emergency services workers - paid and volunteer in frontline and support roles - make an enormous contribution to our community.

Ground breaking research undertaken by Beyond Blue has shown that people in the emergency services sector had substantially higher rates of psychological distress and probable PTSD compared to the Australian population and workers in other industries, including the Australian Defence Force.

We know our emergency service workers see and do things that are often hard to cope with emotionally and it accumulates over time.

​​​​​​​Our community relies on its emergency services in the hard times and we must support them to manage their own hard times, because of the difficult work they must do every day.

ESF needs your support to deliver two pioneering prevention programs to benefit Victoria’s emergency workers.

     •  A Lived Experience Program will train emergency workers to safely share their stories of mental health injury and recovery. This will help to reduce the mental health stigma which pervades the sector and inhibits early help seeking when the chance of recovery is greatest.

     •  A Residential Wellbeing Pilot Program will bring together emergency workers showing signs of harm with experts to help them develop skills to process and reduce the cumulative effect of trauma and reduce the risk developing serious mental health injury.

​​​​​​We are asking Victorians to show their gratitude by making a donation to help those who help us.

Please show your support by making a secure online donation today using the form.