Movember's Mo Bros from Alexandra Fire Brigade
Alexandra Fire Brigade is growing, but not as you’d expect.
Four volunteer firefighters from the brigade have shaved down for the challenge of the hairy upper lip for the first time as a group for this year’s Movember.
Leading the magnificent moustaches is Secretary and Firefighter Brenton Doyle-Smith, along with fellow members Kent Robertson, Haydn Simpson and Josh Palmer.
Brenton, like his teammates, embodies everything volunteerism is about, being a committed volunteer member of CFA and VICSES.
He said anything to help the community is worthwhile.
“Personally, I have been doing Movember for a few years and normally we would have participated in the Firefighter Stair Climb or the Eureka but this year we couldn’t due to COVID so we thought as a brigade this would be a great cause to support,” he said.
Brenton’s real motivation is to get men talking about their mental health and remove the stigma.
“In everyday life we tend to generalise our feelings and let things build up. This is what will affect us down the track,” he said.
“I want to get rid of generic terms like ‘I’m doing ok’ or ‘yeah, I’m alright’ and actually get men talking about how they feel.”
Brenton describes his own brigade culture as open and honest, and said as emergency services personnel they need to be able to tackle challenging situations together.
“We make a concerted effort to have debriefs after big incidents to help with managing mental health of our members, so they aren’t taking ‘stuff’ home.”
Kent Robertson is an Alexandra Fire Brigade firefighter and Movember teammate. Kent’s personal motivation comes from seeing his own father battle with health issues.
“My father had prostate cancer, and he is thankfully on the other side of it now,” Kent said.
“Seeing Dad go through that has made be more proactive about my health and taken the taboo out of it. I can talk about men’s health more openly now.”
It isn’t the first time Kent has participated in the cause, seeing the conversation starter as a powerful tool to help others who might be struggling behind the scenes.
“I’ve had friends struggle with mental health and suicide. Just starting the conversation or lending an open ear to someone could be just the thing that helps them.”
The four members have raised $1500 so far and said they “don’t have a goal, but just want to raise as much as they can for the foundation”.
If you’d like to support Alexandra Fire Brigade head to https://movember.com/t/alexandra-cfa?mc=1
Firefighter Brenton Doyle-Smith-
Firefighter Kent Robertson
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| Submitted by |
Courtney Walker |