VICSES joins Movember initiative for better men’s health and wellbeing

VICSES joins Movember initiative for better men’s health and wellbeing

01/11/2021, 7:29 PM

Today, Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) staff and volunteers are answering the razor’s call to arms and moonscaping their mugs for men’s physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Since 2003, more than 6 million people across 20 countries have joined our global men’s health movement, helping men across the world live happier, healthier, longer lives.

Mos will once again sprout up from behind face masks, starting life-saving conversations over the course of the month in an effort to raise funds and awareness for men’s mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.

Over the last two years the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to take a toll on the mental and physical health of men across the country. In Australia, three out of four suicides are men and suicide is the leading cause of premature death for men. First responders are also seven times more likely to suffer mental injury than the general public, according to research by the Emergency Services Foundation.

It’s not just mental health the pandemic has directly impacted. Disruptions caused by the pandemic have also played a role in delaying potentially life-saving conversations for those experiencing prostate cancer and testicular cancer. Delays in cancer diagnosis, the cancellation of non-essential surgery in hospitals across the country, and the impact of social isolation on mental health have all continued to affect Australian men.

In Australia, one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, and testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young men. This is why Movember is calling on Mo Bros and Mo Sisters across the country to rally together and help our men live happier, healthier, longer lives.

This year, VICSES has set a target of $7,500 in donations and, if this bounty is met, VICSES staff Alistair Drayton & David Baker have pledged to dye their mos a bright orange!

If you’re a VICSES volunteer, or supporter, you can join this wonderful initiative by visiting the Movember website or downloading the Movember App.

If you wish to make a donation to our marvellous mos, click here.

To read more stories about the culture at VICSES, click here.

Quote attributable to VICSES Deputy Chief Officer, David Baker:

“For me, Movember signifies an opportunity for men to be open about how they’re tracking. Blokes can hold things in to their own cost, so I want to help men to open up and seek help.”

“If you’re tracking well, the people around you do too and just like links in a chain, each one needs the other to stay strong. Wellbeing radiates outward, to the people you love and care about.”

Quote attributable to VICSES Operations Officer, Aaron White:

“Men’s mental health is important to me having lost family and friends to suicide, so it’s close to home. It’s also a fun interactive way as a team to do this for ourselves and raise some money for a good cause.”

“While men’s mental health is something that should be looked at every day of the year, Movember highlights it on an international scale.”

“My advice to men managing silently would be to speak up. The sooner everything opens up, the sooner you can get help that you need. To everyone else I would say check in on a bro, ask how they’re doing; ask how they’re really doing.”

Quote attributable to VICSES Woodend Unit, Operations Officer, Kevin McNair:

“Since stepping down as a controller, my focus is more on the mental wellbeing of first responders. While Movember does a fantastic job you can’t do enough. As a society, we’re learning more about the effects of poor mental health. While resilience has its place, being a bit nicer to people contributes to their well-being, and their community.”

Quote attributable to APAC Country Director, Movember, Rachel Carr:

“Last year, the Movember Australia community really showed up for us, and it was incredible to see so many people recognising how important men’s physical and mental health continues to be.”