About us

HUGS@Home started as a research project in January 2022, funded by Movember and the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride, with the aim of training families and friends of first responders how to 1) recognise stress in their loved one; 2) begin a helpful conversation using basic psychological first aid techniques; and 3) prioritise self-care while providing social support to others.  Following the success of the research project, we decided to continue providing the service on a not-for-profit basis and incorporated HUGS as a profit with purpose CLG, trading as HUGS Community.  As an early-stage pipeline spin-out company from RCSI, we now offer training to the wider first responder community- full time and volunteer responders, peer support teams, families and friends, mental health professionals and others supporting frontline work.

Our vision is a society where first responders, their friends, family members and organisations will talk about mental health without fear or stigma, and feel confident to support each other.   

We are former firefighters and paramedics, family members of serving personnel, educators and researchers with lived experience of operational and organisational stress, peer support, and trauma-informed psychoeducation.