August 2019
BACKUP for Life has been on the road again and has recently visited Goulburn, Wagga, and Tweed Heads. The Goulburn workshops were well supported, and a huge thank you goes out to Mick Donnelly of the Goulburn RPA who through his work with the Soldiers Club kindly facilitated complimentary room hire. It was also wonderful to have the assistance of Gary Thornton and Libby Eichler as our BACKUP for Life Mentors to support and assist during the Holistic Health & Wellbeing programs.
Next was a quick trip to Wagga hosted by Steve Turner, secretary of the Wagga RPA and BACKUP for Life Mentor. Steve kindly invited me to a wonderful police social dinner at the Wild Vine Winery, before I attended the Wagga RPA meeting the following day to present on the BACKUP for Life Project. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the Local Area Commander during my visit, as well as both serving and former officers, which gave me a great opportunity to understand the local issues. The country hospitality was thoroughly appreciated, and it was also wonderful to see Beth and Graham Docksey, both BACKUP for Life Mentors, make the trip from Albury along with a couple of their RPA members.
The month was finalised with a 3-day trip to Tweed Heads, where we ran our Holistic Health & Wellbeing programs with Margie Braunstein of the Quest for Life Foundation, and the Career Confidence course with Jane Jackson. What an amazing group of transitioning and former police! Thank you Greg Treavors, BACKUP for Life Mentor, for making the trip to Tweed Heads all the way from Bathurst to assist – your presence was of great support to both me and those in attendance. Onwards and upwards!
~Esther Mckay, BACKUP for Life Project Manager
