How is your mental fitness? Mateship Miles rolls into Nowra, spreading their message and sparking conversations

Fires, floods, the pandemic - these tough times have taken a toll on our communities. Not only is there the physical damage, but the mental load can often be the hardest burden to bear.

It's something Gus Worland and Karl Stefanovic know all too well; the pair have been on the road all week for the Mateship Miles roadshow, and stopped for breakfast at the West Nowra RFS and Emergency Management Centre this morning.

All week, their campaign has been kick-starting conversations about the importance of building mental fitness, meaningful mateship and social and emotional connection, and good health.

"People think about mental health, and they think about people who are really not going well... that it doesn't affect them," Mr Worland said.

"But if you talk about mental fitness, it's a bit like your physical fitness - and everyone's got that at some level. It's why I like to call it that; when I talk to schools, or netball clubs, or football clubs, they're nodding along because they get it.

"We need to normalise this conversation, because if you normalise it then it's more likely for people to try and get some help when they need it."

Both Worland and Stefanovic are passionate about normalising conversations about mental fitness.

Their ultimate goal? Change the consciousness of our nation, and reduce the number of Australians taking their own lives.

Mr Worland said the week-long trip across Victoria and New South Wales with the Mateship Miles roadshow has been yet another eye-opening experience.

He has previously explored mental health (and mental fitness) through hosting the television series Man Up on the ABC. Mr Worland's show challenged masculinity in Australia and probed why we lose so many men to suicide.

In Australia, seven men and two women take their own lives every day. Every 28 seconds a person attempts suicide.

"The most common conversation we've been having [on the roadshow] is simply talking to people about what they've done over the past couple of years - how they have coped with having their lives turned upside down," Mr Worland said.

"There was a sense of communities just bunkering down for a period of time to just get through it, and not having the support that perhaps the cities have.

"It's been lovely to sit with people and give them permission to talk about how tough it has been.

"People have just cried, hugged, and thanked us for being there - for listening and caring about them, because there's definitely a feeling that they've been left to their own devices."

If there's one group that understands having your world turned upside down, it's the Shoalhaven's Rural Fire Service crews.

Teams from Shoalhaven Heads, Culburra Beach, St Georges Basin and beyond joined the roadshow.

RFS spokesperson Angela Buford said not only do the crews back the cause, but the service itself has made huge strides in supporting fireys' mental health in the wake of Black Summer.

The RFS has systems and support people in place for its firefighters, and after the tragic events on 2019-20, now has psychologists on staff.

"After the devastating [Black Summer] fires we went straight in to COVID, so a lot of our members didn't have that opportunity to have those really important conversations where we debrief and talk about how we're feeling after such shocking events," Ms Buford said.

"So it's important now, even a couple of years after that fire season, that we are talking to people."

Shoalhaven Mayor Amanda Findley echoed the sentiment.

"We've been through so much trauma and I know for a fact that many people are just suffering from trauma fatigue," she said.

"So being able to talk about it in any way that we can is really important."

During this week, the Mateship Miles roadshow has travelled Victoria to New South Wales via Shepparton, Wagga Wagga, Canberra, and Nowra to meet local communities; it will make one final stop in Wollongong tomorrow.

Mr Worland said it is the start of something big, and has ambitions for an even more far-reaching trip in the future. His aim is to make the roadshow an annual event for Australians.

If you or someone you know is in need of mental health support contact your GP or call one of the phone support services available.

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