The support shown for veterans throughout the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide has been crucial to draw attention to the challenges faced by some veterans as a result of their service.
The final report shows risk factors for suicide and suicidality cut across many domains. They include housing and financial security, family and interpersonal relationships, access to services and supports, and psychosocial factors such as feelings of purpose and belonging. The interactions between these factors can be complex.
The Royal Commission made public some truly harrowing stories, and the process has contributed to healing for some of those families and individuals most affected.
The most important thing moving forward is that it delivers meaningful change.
It is important that we all look to the future rather than lay blame for past mistakes.
We must also consider the impacts of this process of our current serving members, who serve their country with deep pride.
It is important that we acknowledge a Defence Force is essential. And with service comes risk. While the majority of serving members will have a positive experience – make lifelong friends and leave the military with a wide range of skills, unfortunately the reality of war is that some military personnel will see humanity at its worst, and for some, service will have long-lasting impacts.
As a community we have a special obligation to support those personnel throughout their service and beyond.
Bravery Trust was created by Defence for Defence to be part of the solution.
We support the recommendation to establish a new entity to oversee accountability across the defence and veteran ecosystem; and to prioritise long-term solutions rather than short-term responses.
Bravery Trust has evolved from an assistance-only model, recognising that distributing money without longer term support was a band-aid solution. We focus on providing expert, professional support – looking outside of the ex-service organisation landscape and adopting best practice from other sectors. Being proactive and seeking ways for early intervention are important to minimise and reduce the risks for veterans and their families.
Bravery Trust now delivers a unique model, combining assistance with the only national veteran specific financial counselling service.
We recognise that without first addressing the crises there is no way for veteran to think about anything else. We provide an immediate safety net and then work proactively with veterans and their families to minimise and reduce the risks of financial hardship.
It is only by working together, by bringing Government, Defence and ex-service organisations together with true collaboration that we can have the most impact.
