Supporting children from first responder families

There are 80,000 full time First Responders in Australia, plus many part-time, volunteers and those who support the volunteers. Many of these children of First Responder families live in regional, rural and remote (RRR) communities where their parents work as fire fighters, paramedics, police, and security officers to serve our communities. The children are vulnerable to the secondary transference of trauma via their parents, who are increasingly in demand to tackle more frequent and intense climate emergencies as well as other critical incidents.

Being situated in RRR communities makes accessing mental health services problematic. First responders are also typically highly mobile, frequently relocating within their state or territory. This weakens support systems and affects children’s ability to make friends, bond with educators and find other forms of supports.