Heart 2 Heart Walk 2023
A long-distance walk, raising awareness around Australian first responder wellbeing.
28/09/2023
SITREP UPDATE DAY 87 OF 90
Come join us for the final leg of the Heart 2 Heart Walk 2023, midday on Thursday 28 September 2023, to walk from the National Emergency Services Memorial to Parliament House.
ℹ www.heart2heartwalk.org/finalwalkday
📆 2 Heart Heart 2 Heart Walk - The Final Walk Day (Public Event)
🎙 h2hwalk.podcast
💙Protect those who protect us💙
❤Save those who save us❤
💚Care for those who care for us💚
🧡Rescue those who rescue us🧡
❗124KM TO GO❗
ℹ www.heart2heartwalk.org
🎙 h2hwalk.podcast
💙Protect those who protect us💙
❤Save those who save us❤
💚Care for those who care for us💚
🧡Rescue those who rescue us🧡
19/09/2023
DAY 82 OF 90 UPDATE
2,482km done, 188km to go!
Come join us for the final leg of the Heart 2 Heart Walk 2023 at midday on Thursday 28 September 2023, to walk from the National Emergency Services Memorial to Parliament House.
ℹ www.heart2heartwalk.org/finalwalkday
📆Heart 2 Heart Walk - The Final Walk Day (Public Event)
🎙 h2hwalk.podcast
💙Protect those who protect us💙
❤Save those who save us❤
💚Care for those who care for us💚
🧡Rescue those who rescue us🧡
DAY 71 OF 90 UPDATE
Please like and share Heart 2 Heart Walk 2023 page, to help us to help our first responders 🇦🇺
ℹ www.heart2heartwalk.org | h2hwalk.podcast
📆Heart2Heart Trivia Night @ Wagga Boat Club
📆Heart 2 Heart Walk - The Final Walk Day (Public Event)
📯Emerge & See NSW & ACT
Urana, New South Wales | Federation Council
Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia | City of Wagga Wagga
DAY 61 OF 90 UPDATE
Just outside Kerang, Victoria, we reached the 2,000km milestone, while eliminating a few potential contestants for Dancing With The Stars!
Please like and share Heart 2 Heart Walk 2023 page, to help us to help our first responders 🇦🇺
ℹ www.heart2heartwalk.org | h2hwalk.podcast
29/08/2023
🎬 Check out this awesome little video by our new found friends Nigel and Sue Adventures on the early days of the walk.
Featuring some rough familiar cameos! 🎥
Please like and share Heart 2 Heart Walk 2023 page, to help us to help our first responders 🇦🇺
ℹ www.heart2heartwalk.org | h2hwalk.podcast
STUCK in the Outback - Coober Pedy to Oodnadatta Track | Vanlife Australia Hey friends! We're on our way to the Ooodnadatta Track. The roads finally opened and we were able to leave Coober Pedy. We headed towards Oodnadatta on th...
Support us to support our first responders. For more info, donate or fundraise, visit:
ℹ www.heart2heartwalk.org
🎙 To listen to our podcast: h2hwalk.podcast
Support us to support our first responders. For more info, donate or fundraise, visit:
ℹ www.heart2heartwalk.org
🎙 To listen to our podcast: h2hwalk.podcast
❕Another successful FRED❕
Heart 2 Heart Walk 2023 First Responder Engagement Day (FRED).
Support us to support our first responders. For more info, donate or fundraise, visit:
ℹ www.heart2heartwalk.org
🎙 To listen to our podcast: h2hwalk.podcast
District Council of Peterborough Peterborough, South Australia
📣30JUL23 SITREP📣
For more info, donate or fundraise, visit:
ℹ www.heart2heartwalk.org
To listen to our podcast:
🎙 h2hwalk.podcast
Flinders Ranges and Outback District Council of Peterborough
📣16JUL23 SITREP📣
For more info, donate or fundraise, visit:
ℹ www.heart2heartwalk.org
🎙 To listen to our podcast: h2hwalk.podcast
❕RIGHT SAID FRED❕
Last night we held the first of our First Responder Engagement Days (FRED), with an informal BBQ event at the Transcontinental Hotel Oodnadatta with local first responders.
Support us to support our first responders. For more info, donate or fundraise, visit:
ℹ www.heart2heartwalk.org
🎙 To listen to our podcast: h2hwalk.podcast
📣10JUL23 SITREP📣
For more info, donate or fundraise, visit:
ℹ www.heart2heartwalk.org
🎙 To listen to our podcast: h2hwalk.podcast
🎙PODCAST - EPISODE EIGHTEEN🎙
Heart 2 Heart Walk Podcast - Episode 18: Greg Mitchell - a retired 42 year veteran nurse who specialised in NSW Air Ambulance Flight Nursing which included roles conducting complex aeromedical transfers across the state. Greg has a hugely diverse background in the field of nursing, including working internationally, specialising in emergency nursing, midwifery and later aeromedical transfers as a Flight Nurse with Air Ambulance NSW Ambulance.
▶️Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and others: https://linktr.ee/h2hwalk
ℹ️ www.heart2heartwalk.org | h2hwalk.podcast
🇦🇺💙❤💚🧡🇦🇺
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📣04JUL23 SITREP📣
For more info, donate or fundraise, visit:
ℹ www.heart2heartwalk.org
🎙 To listen to our podcast: h2hwalk.podcast
01/07/2023
📣01JUL23 SITREP📣
WE MADE IT 🥳🥳🥳 ...Let the Heart 2 Heart Walk 2023 begin!
🚸1313 ACST the walk commenced from Lambert's Geographical Centre of Australia
🎙 h2hwalk.podcast
ℹ www.heart2heartwalk.org
📣30JUN23 SITREP📣
*English translation available upon request😉
📣29JUN23 SITREP 📣
🎙PODCAST - EPISODE SEVENTEEN🎙
Heart 2 Heart Walk Podcast - Episode 17: Paul "Fluffy" Sinclair - Comedian / Instagram Megastar - Ex Victoria Police Forensic Investigator turned worm farmer who's now transformed his life into what works for him!
⚠️Language Warning⚠️ If you’re offended by bad language, this episode is NOT for you!
There are no words to describe this guest. A larger-than-life character who has faced some real challenges, and now spends his days doing what he wants - making people laugh. But it's more than that. The people that reach out to Fluffy are just like you and me. Some of them are facing their own challenges, and in a way that only Fluffy can, get supported by this legend and his outlook on life.
Check him out at https://heycunce.com.au
Facebook: Paul 'Fluffy' Sinclair
With over 125,000 followers including major celebrities and general ‘Joe's’ - do yourself a favour and check out Fluffy's instagram posts or his website here: https://linktr.ee/paul_fluffy_sinclair
Listener discretion is advised; some episodes raise issues regarding mental health, su***de and other matters that might not be suitable for all listeners.
▶️Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and others: https://linktr.ee/h2hwalk
ℹ️ www.heart2heartwalk.org | h2hwalk.podcast
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26/06/2023
🚑🚒 MARK US: EN ROUTE 🚓🚐
This morning the first contingent of Heart 2 Heart 'walkers' departed the National Emergency Services Memorial for Lambert's Geographical Centre of Australia.
Prior to departing, a smoking ceremony and prayer was conducted, along with the handing over of a baton with the 14 recommendations from the 2019 Senate Inquiry Report into first responder su***de, PTSD and premature mortality encapsulated. This baton will be carried throughout the walk and presented to the Prime Minister at Parliament House on completion of the walk on 28 September 2023.
ℹ️ www.heart2heartwalk.org | h2hwalk.podcast
🇦🇺💙❤💚🧡🇦🇺
Police Bank | Australian Federal Police Association
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📣📣MEDIA RELEASE 📣📣
First responders call for back-up with Heart2Heart Walk
A JOURNEY of 3000km will get under way on July 1 when a group of former and serving first responders sets out from the geographic heart of Australia bound for the heart of its government in Canberra.
Dubbed the Heart2Heart Walk, it is being staged to urge the Federal Government to better support the wellbeing of Australia’s 400,000 volunteer and 80,000 salaried first responders.
The route starts at the Lambert Centre of Australia, and winds through outback South Australia into Broken Hill before following the River Murray and crossing the Murrumbidgee. It will conclude on September 28, when a petition is presented to the Prime Minister compelling support for all 14 recommendations made following a 2019 Senate Inquiry entitled The people behind 000: mental health of our first responders.
Organiser Vince Pannell APM said first responders have one of Australia’s highest su***de and PTSD rates, and the walk aims to raise awareness as well as funds by putting the spotlight on a national problem too often shouldered in silence.
“The Heart2Heart journey is more than just a walk; it’s our commitment to fighting for better mental health services for all Australian first responders and their families,” Vince said.
“Compared with the average Australian, first responders are twice as likely to report suicidal thoughts, three times more likely to have a plan for completion, and six times more likely to experience symptoms of PTSD.
“We need to ensure these ordinary people who do extraordinary things in protecting, rescuing and caring for people in our community day in and day out receive the support they need."
The Heart2Heart Walk is already accepting donations, and has prioritised the funding of research into the extent of mental health issues and incidents, and su***de, among former and serving first responders.
“Data available at present is anecdotal; there’s no empirical evidence, so it’s hard to know how big the problem is across the different jurisdictions.”
Vince said while first responders were inherently willing to deal with challenging situations, and over extended periods, fatigue caused by call-outs or call-aways on top of regular work, and exposure to trauma, can take a terrible toll.
“Part of the problem is the frequency of disasters in a season that used to run from November to March, and now it’s more like September to May.
“The emergency management cycle is about building resilience, response and recovery, and then reviewing what’s happened.
“We do it with the incidents and not the people; when people get broken, they need help too.” While the national average age life expectancy for Australians is 83, data collected in 2015-16 shows the average for former Australian Federal Police officers is just 62.
Vince said Heart2Heart hopes to work with authorities to establish an inaugural national committee to represent first responders.
“We want it to help guide an education system for organisations, first responders and their families that can keep people doing the work they love through covering off on mental health.
“We’re not saying Heart2Heart has all the answers, but through research, education and cooperation, we want to help build a framework that puts first responders in contact with those that can help them.”
Vince said an “amazing and unique spirit” is shared by first responders, who can work together, regardless of the uniform they wear, in emergency situations.
In contrast, first responders often suffer alone post event. “United we stand, divided we fall.” “If we don’t fix that, we’re not sending a positive message to people who are considering become first responders, and we’re not supporting the people who have already done so much.”
MEDIA RELEASE LINK:https://www.heart2heartwalk.org/_files/ugd/56768c_75be6042a7bd4827b46aa318e660a24e.pdf
Media enquiries: Liz Wells, 0418 484 446, [email protected]
Visit www.heart2heartwalk.org to find out more.
Heart 2 Heart Walk 2023 h2hwalk.podcast
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The Heart2Heart Walk platinum sponsors are Police Bank and the Australian Federal Police Association. Gold sponsors include: Diverse Training Concepts, Raytheon Australia, Chelsea Wealth, Holan Group, Omni and ACT Emergency Services Agency.
Silver sponsors include: David Healey Solicitors, Northern Territory Police Association, Fighting Spirit Fitness & Nutrition, Richard Rolfe and the Australian Paramedics Association.
21/06/2023
⏱WALK START COUNTDOWN⏱
🚓 Doing it for our First Responders 🚒 www.heart2heartwalk.org to donate 🚑
🎙PODCAST - EPISODE FIFTEEN🎙
Heart 2 Heart Walk Podcast - Episode 15: Toby Rowallan - Emergency Medical Dispatcher with Ambulance Tasmania. In this episode, Matt talks to Toby Rowallan, a 27-year veteran Emergency Medical Dispatcher, who's career commenced just a day after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, setting the tone throughout his time in being aware of the job demands and focus on welfare of staff around him.
Toby and Matt talk about the stresses of emergency services life and take a deep dive into the roles within an emergency medical dispatch centre, along with the unique demands upon those roles within. The discussion goes into options of better managing emergency services workers in the work that they do, shift lengths, resources and work/life balance measures to avoid unnecessary harm.
Toby was also on shift the day of one of the most tragic events in recent times in Tasmania, the 2021 Hillcrest Primary School accident where 6 children were killed, and just how that was handled on the day from within the control room; a truly amazing story.
▶️Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and others: https://linktr.ee/h2hwalk
ℹ️ www.heart2heartwalk.org | h2hwalk.podcast
🇦🇺💙❤💚🧡🇦🇺
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11/06/2023
⏱WALK START COUNTDOWN⏱
www.heart2heartwalk.org to donate.
🇦🇺💙❤️💚🧡🇦🇺
To all first responders, current and former, and your families... thank you!
But not just thanking, we're going further to:
💙Protect those who protect us💙
❤️Save those who save us❤️
💚Care for those who care for us💚
🧡Rescue those who rescue us🧡
Thank a First Responder Day | Heart 2 Heart Walk 2023 | h2hwalk.podcast
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🎙PODCAST - HOT DEBRIEF EPISODE SEVEN🎙
Heart 2 Heart Walk Podcast - 'Hot Debrief' Episode 7: Simon Bouda AM - 40-year veteran journalist, author and ambassador for victims of crime.
In this episode, Matt and Simon talk about life as a journalist, the parallels with the emergency services world along with the amazing work Simon's doing supporting so many causes, including his role as ambassador for Homicide Victims Support. Simon talks of his deployments to East Timor with the Australian Defence Force, Fiji covering the violent coup where he was almost shot and later his role in the rescue of the last surviving victim of the Christchurch Earthquake. Simon reflects on the importance of maintaining trust with those people around him, including the emergency services workers and victims throughout his journalistic career.
Simon also talks about his work as an ambassador for Grace's Place - the Homicide Victims Support centre where he proudly hosts the Ride For Justice combining his passion for motorcycles. Combined with his career as a journalist, this community work has had him recognised in the Queens Birthday Honours with the Member of the Order of Australia medal.
His support of the Police and Emergency Services is evident in his roles with NSW Police Legacy and more recently being appointed as Editor of the Australian Police Journal. Simon has also authored and co-authored a range of books including Deadline, Man's Best Friend and Survival.
▶️Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and others: https://linktr.ee/h2hwalk
ℹ️ www.heart2heartwalk.org | h2hwalk.podcast
🇦🇺💙❤💚🧡🇦🇺
9 News Melbourne 9 News Sydney 9 News 60 Minutes Australia
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