Awareness raising information event set for Newry Fire Station | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

Awareness raising information event set for Newry Fire Station

NIFRSNorthern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) has teamed up with two local charities, Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke and MindWise, on a new initiative, ‘Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, to raise awareness of the importance of keeping both your mental and physical health in good shape.

A number of awareness raising events are planned for the year ahead, starting with a Station to Station Cycle which will stop at all 68 Fire Stations in Northern Ireland.


 

 

The Station2Station Challenge begins on Monday 8th May, marking the start of Mental Health Awareness Week 2017 (8-14 May).

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25th March 2017Both charities and NIFRS have signed a Partnership Agreement, as part of the NIFRS Health & Well-Being plan, to work together to promote mental and physical well-being amongst NIFRS staff and the wider community.

Group Commander, Keith Black, Occupational Health & Well-Being, NIFRS explained, “As Firefighters, we know the importance of maintaining physical fitness throughout our careers.


 

“What is equally important, however, is our mental fitness, and through this new initiative we hope to remove some of the fear people may have about talking about their mental health, both amongst our own staff and the in wider public.”

The Station2Station Cycle was the brainchild of Firefighter, Noel McKee, who is also a trained counsellor. Noel and 3 other Firefighters will cycle to every Fire Station and together with the charity partners deliver a talk at 2 secondary schools each day of the 10 day cycle.


 

Information Nights will also be held at 6 Fire Stations which are free for the public to attend. An Information Night will be held in Newry Fire Station on Monday 8th May from 7pm-9pm.

Declan Cunnane, Chief Executive of Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke commented, “We are delighted to be working alongside NIFRS. 40% of adult deaths in Northern Ireland are from chest, heart or stroke illnesses.

“Living with a long term health condition is not easy, physically, mentally and emotionally, for the individual or their family. That is why it is so important to increase people’s knowledge about how they can keep healthy and decrease their risk of developing these illnesses. On a personal note, I am a keen cyclist myself and hope to join Noel and his team for part of the cycle.”


 

Edward Gorringe, Chief Executive, MindWise, said, “We are excited to be a part of the Healthy Body Healthy Mind project and are encouraged to see a large organisation such as NIFRS make mental health a priority.”

A number of other awareness raising events are planned as part of the Healthy Body, Healthy Mind initiative, which will see NIFRS staff challenging themselves physically and mentally as they highlight the importance of mental and physical fitness.

Any money raised will be split evenly between MindWise and Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke to continue to fund their vital services.

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25th March 2017 Box AdvertDonations for the Station2Station Cycle Challenge can be made through Firefighter Noel McKee’s Just Giving Page – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/healthybodyhealthymind or by Texting RED to 70660 to donate £3.

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Posted by on May 4 2017. Filed under Community, What's On. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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