STATEWIDE NEWS
Supporting the mental health of young volunteers New resources have been developed through the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC to support positive mental health and wellbeing of young adult emergency services volunteers. The research team at the University of Adelaide created a valid, practical and usable framework and several reliable resources to support positive mental health and wellbeing in volunteers aged 16 to 25 years old. These can be used at an individual, local and organisation-wide level to minimise the short- and longterm impacts of exposure to potentially traumatising events, and to maintain and promote mental health and wellbeing in volunteering more generally. The resources, which are available at bnhcrc.com.au/resources/volunteermental-health, include: •C are4Guide: a self-completed guide to positive mental health and wellbeing for young fire and emergency services
volunteers. It’s designed to be used by volunteers to maintain and practise positive mental health. It can also be used by leaders and organisations to promote positive mental health and wellbeing within emergency services and other volunteer-based organisations. • Care4Guide posters. • Care4Guide social media assets. • Fact sheets of key findings from the project, highlighting the research-based evidence behind the Care4Guide and other resources. • A Young Volunteer Wellbeing Framework and an Agency Implementation Guide. These are both in the final research report, Positive mental health in young adult emergency services personnel (see bnhcrc.com.au/ volunteermentalhealth/report). The project was a partnership between the CRC, AFAC, the University of Adelaide, the University of Western Australia,
Flinders University, the University of British Columbia (Canada), the Hospital Research Foundation, Military and Emergency Services Health Australia and key emergency services. The young adult members of AFAC’s Young Volunteers Advisory Committee also helped to develop all the resources. You can read more about the research in the CRC’s Hazard Note 98: bnhcrc.com. au/hazardnotes/98. STORY BETHANY PATCH NATURAL HAZARDS RESEARCH AUSTRALIA
Using diversity and inclusion to strengthen capability Diversity is the blend of different people in an organisation or community, each with their own identities, goals and abilities, while inclusion can only occur when those differences are valued and people are able to contribute fully. The emergency management sector has begun to address the low representation of true diversity and inclusion in its workforce to strengthen resilience, wellbeing and community safety. New research from the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, led by Celeste Young at Victoria University, collaborated with diversity and inclusion practitioners to develop an understanding of what effective diversity and inclusion look like in emergency management and what’s needed to support more effective practice. This was examined from community, organisational and economic perspectives, with researchers developing an evidencebased Diversity and Inclusion Framework for Emergency Management Policy and Practice, with materials to support its implementation. The Framework and supporting documentation are available on the CRC website: bnhcrc.com.au/driving-change/future-workforce This research effectively broadens and strengthens
the conversation about diversity and inclusion in the emergency management sector, in particular the need to humanise risk using a deeper understanding of what diversity and inclusion look like in practice. You can read more about the research behind these resources in the CRC’s Hazard Note 99: bnhcrc.com.au/hazardnotes/99. STORY BETHANY PATCH NATURAL HAZARDS RESEARCH AUSTRALIA
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