The Code 9 Foundation

Episode 22 features Dean Mighell. Dean is the brains behind Path of the Horse, an equine therapy registered charity that runs out of Trentham, Victoria. For those that have ventured out to POTH, it is nothing short of an extraordinary experience. Dean's knowledge and experience in mental health and the use of horses in treatment is just brilliant. Tiff and Dean have an all around discussion surrou...

In the latest episode of Conversations with the Code 9 Foundation, our new host, Tiff Cook hosted Nick Farr. Nick is a former member of Victoria Police who later co-founded "The Resilience Builders". Nick is a highly accomplished mountaineer having completed ascents of Mount Everest and other prominent mountains across the world. For more information on Nick: https://resiliencebuilders.com.au/ htt...

In this episode, Vanessa joined us to have a chat about what it is like to live with dwarfism. From her early childhood memories to the present, what is really clear is that Ness has excelled and lives life without any regrets.

Matt Ross, ill health retired Victoria Police veteran joins us to talk about his alcohol addiction. Matt is very open about his addiction journey and details ups and downs throughout this process. Trigger warning, there are parts of this pod that can be confronting.

Ron Fenton. Victoria Police veteran who on 22 November 1984 was shot in the back of the head. Doctors gave him no chance to live, but those that know Ron will attest to the fact that you do not tell Ron these sort of things. He not only survived but got back to operational policing for near on two decades. He rolls around with 37 fragments of that bullet lodged in his head. Ron is now living with...

Sergeant Brent Macintyre has been a police officer for 23 years both in Ottawa and Niagara. Brent has been the face of the Ottawa Wellness Unit since it first commenced operating in 2017 and he is the Peer Support Coordinator. In this podcast he talks about what wellbeing support was available to Ottawa Police officers before this, what he has learnt about the Ottawa Police Service and officer wel...

Nick was a police officer for 25 years with the Anitoch Police Department in California. For 17 of those years he worked night shift in a town that was well known for its high crime rate, drugs and gang violence. Nick was exposed surely to the worst possible critical incident possible when he had to shoot his own brother who was threatening to kill his parents. He was responsible for establishing...

Sergeant Stuart Charlesworth is a sergeant with the Greater Manchester police and in 2012 was exposed to one of the worst critical incidents a police officer could attend. He was a supervising sergeant on the 18th September 2012 when two of his constables were ambushed and murdered. It took Stuart 4 years to seek help for his mental health and he tells us his story along with how stigma contribute...

Julie Werhnyak is a 20 year veteran member of Tempe Police Department in Phoenix, Arizona before her retirement in 2016. Her retirement came after she was stabbed in the neck when responding to a welfare check where she found a male stabbing his partner before he turned on Julie. Julie fatally shot the offender and has since recovered to be a sought after speaker and runs her own defensive tactics...

Sergeant Martin Lally from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) was at the forefront of the wellbeing response after the deadly 2017 Manchester Arena bombing. He has worked through his own mental health injury and outlines how and why he now considers himself in better health. He is also a recipient of a Sir Winston Churchill Fellowship in the UK, which saw him travel to Australia and spend sometime re...

In this episode of "Conversations with The Code 9 Foundation" Erin chats with Mark Dobson. Mark is an operational firefighter with FRNNSW and spent seven years as the Wellbeing Coordinator in Work, Health and Safety. He also wrote the first mental health policy for any NSW Government Agency, which led to the Beyond Blue Framework, which has been used by First Responder organisations to modernise w...

In this tenth episode of "Conversations with The Code 9 Foundation" we are joined by one of the original - and much-respected - members of the Code 9 Family - Rob Atkins. This episode comes with a content warning as we discuss aspects of the Black Saturday bushfires, so if that event is difficult for you, or you are having a tough day today, perhaps come back and listen some other time, or skip ov...

In this ninth episode of "Conversations with The Code 9 Foundation", CEO of Beyond Blue Georgie Harman joins us to discuss why it is so important for us to look at how the country deals with mental health, how can support the well-being of those in the emergency services and on the frontline protecting the community, and her reflections on the importance of "self-replenishment" and "nothing about...

In this eighth episode of "Conversations with The Code 9 Foundation" we are joined by CEO of Ambulance Victoria, Tony Walker. Tony joins us to reflect on the journey AV has taken to change the culture around well-being and to break down stigma and normalise conversations around mental health.

In this seventh episode of "Conversations with The Code 9 Foundation", we are joined by former Victorian Premier, Liberal Leader, and founder of not-for-profit organisation Beyond Blue. Jeff joins us to reflect on his passion for promoting the importance of good mental health and we discuss his motivation for starting Beyond Blue, how he helped it grow into the world-leading mental health support...

In this sixth episode of "Conversations with The Code 9 Foundation" we are joined by outgoing Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Graham Ashton. Graham joins us to reflect on his 40-year career in law enforcement, breaking down the stigma associated with mental health, and why he wishes he had of acted sooner to normalise the conversation around mental health and well-being within Victoria Poli...

In this fifth episode of "Conversations with The Code 9 Foundation" we are joined by Andrew Crisp, Victoria's Emergency Management Commissioner. During his career, which includes experience in senior emergency management and policing leadership positions, Andrew has been involved in responses to a number of major incidents, such as the Ash Wednesday Bushfires, the 2009 Victorian Bushfires, Christc...

In this fourth episode of "Conversations with The Code 9 Foundation" former AFL footballer, three-time premiership player, and captain of the Geelong Cats, Cameron Ling joins us to reflect on the unique mental health challenges of playing - and retiring from - sport at the elite level. #youareneveralone

In this third episode of "Conversations with The Code 9 Foundation" we are joined by one of the Code 9 Family - Don Gillies. Don needs no introduction, a long career in both police and ambulance, and now a formidable voice for advancing the conversation around first responder mental health and well-being. Don joins us to discuss his passion for supporting well-being through mindfulness and yoga. #...

In this second episode of "Conversations with The Code 9 Foundation" Greg Dean, former Senior Sergeant of Welfare Services at Victoria Police, joins us to discuss his reflections on how we can best support well-being within the emergency services.

In this first episode of The Code 9 Foundation's new podcast series it seemed fitting to kick things off with Founder and President Mark Thomas. Mark joins us to reflect on his experiences with PTSD, why he established the Foundation, and the importance of the tagline #youareneveralone