Pedals n Medals rode through Nimbin on Friday - a bike event raising money and awareness for the charitable foundation 4 Aussie Heroes.

They stopped in at the Nimbin Bush Theatre for refreshments and to meet some of the locals before completing the 165km ride, climbing 6000 feet. Saturday saw another 145km ride.

David Hyett, the proprietor of the Bush Theatre, was very glad to make the acquaintance of the team out fundraising for a very good cause - for first responder personnel (military, ambulance and police) who find themselves suffering as a result of trauma caused by their service.

Some of the 24 people fundraising for the ride are first responders or are directly affected by those first responders. The son of a policeman who is finding life really hard was with the group today. And the director, Gerry Garard, pushing 80, has fought in Vietnam.

(The Pedals n Medals fundraising crew. Image Credit: Gerry Garard)

Gerry and his wife Renita are co-founders and directors of the charity they started seven years ago. They saw the effects front-line jobs were having on people around them, and they were compelled to do something about it.

A group of around seven people developed the initial program, determined to provide help for those with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Gerry said, “We met every three weeks for 18 months, and we produced a program that was nothing like anyone had tried before.

“I believe horses and dogs do more than tablets and medicines. I believe humour and laughter is a big thing in helping people with PTSD.”

To get it up and happening, they raised funds, slowly at first, but they managed to get the program, called Triumph over Trauma, underway. To make things move faster, Renita and Gerry decided to go into a mortgage to provide land to build their own facilities on. People could see they were serious, the program started getting good results and funds started to come more easily.

“Professionals measure each person that comes through under national and international scales, and the results that we get are incredible. 

“We don't advertise. We're well known now, and people contact us through psychologists or psychiatrists or word of mouth from people who've been in the program. Every program, we get more people than we can handle.”

The charity has regular fundraising events like the Pedal n Medal, which is a regular event. This one just happened to be in the Northern Rivers.

(Pushing Pedals. Image Credit: Gerry Garard)

So far, $7.1 million dollars has been raised and they are building their own facilities in South East Queensland, “We're now more than halfway through building our own rehab retreat, which has been called Camp Courage.

“This event is up to about $37,000, but we get some that don't want to go through the fundraising website, and we respect that. We've had about $3,000 in those payments. There is usually a late rush.”

Triumph over Trauma costs $52,000 to run for 10 participants. “They're accommodated. They get all their meals. There's all the insurance, all the manuals and things. We're just waiting for the day when we're running ten a week. We'll find a way. 

The program is divided into phases: a two-week retreat, followed by three months of follow-up discussion, and a refresher after that with more follow-ups. Currently, four programs can be run each year, but with the new facility and the right funds, the plan is to run many more.

“The people that participate don't have to pay a cent to attend Triumph over Trauma.

"They have to pay their airfares at the moment,” but Gerry and Renita are doing work in this space.  

“The Department of Health in Tasmania are now funding their airfares from down there. We've got a charitable organisation in Victoria that raises funds specifically to have people fly up to our program. And so we're working on that basis to get more for people.”

If you would like to know more about the charity, check out their website.

If you would like to donate, click here.

To get involved in participating in events like Pedals n Medals, have a look here 

If you feel you could use some help and guidance, contact the organisation and chat with Gerry about how they can help you. You can also have a closer look at the programs here.