Soldier On, a non-profit that provides specialised care for transitioning service members, is seeking federal funding for a new centre ahead of this year’s Invictus Games.
The recent Transition and wellbeing research program: Mental health and wellbeing transition study found that 46 per cent of transitioned ADF personnel suffer from a mental health condition within the first 12 months after service. It also showed that rates of mental health disorders increased year on year.
Over 50 per cent of those have multiple conditions (such as anxiety and alcohol consumption) and alarmingly, 75 per cent of transitioned personnel report a mental health condition within their lifetime.
The report also states that the main reason people separate from the military is the impact that service life has on the family.
The death of Lieutenant Michael Fussell in Afghanistan in 2008 led to the establishment of Soldier On, which seeks to provide care from ADF members transitioning from service.
Since 2014, Soldier On has been working with CRGH in the development of Australia’s first facility to provide integrated, holistic and cutting-edge specialist services for Defence and national security personnel.
Together CRGH and the Michael Fussell Centre of Excellence will provide clinical support and greater psychosocial programs including early intervention, substance treatments and counselling, psychological support, substance and alcohol misuse programs, family mental health support, social connectedness programs and employment and education programs.
This centre will also be able to effectively support those suffering from traumatic brain injuries to access a multidisciplinary team of specialist experts, the first of its kind in Australia.
“It’s time to put people first,” John Bale, CEO and co-founder of Soldier On, said. “This is why we have developed this Centre of Excellence with Concord Repatriation General Hospital (CRGH).”
“This facility is a game changer, the missing link in the care for Australia’s service personnel,” Bale said. “Australia is behind other nations when it comes to the holistic care of service personnel and families. This facility will change that. It will prevent so many people from falling through the gaps.”
Soldier On have been providing services from a separate facility at Concord for two years, scaling up for the finalisation of this centre of excellence and accommodation. The accommodation for the centre will be opened later this year.
The centre will provide a patient-centric care model to serving and ex-serving personnel and their families. On-site accommodation will be available for families to join their loved ones while they receive critical clinical support through CRGH. Soldier On will provide support and services to the family.
“This centre will be truly national, with veterans and family members from all around Australia being able to stay. Support will then be given to them when they get home to ensure they continue their recovery journey,” Bale said.
“If you’re serving or not serving, your family is often forgotten if you are injured or ill, or the support is minimal. The accommodation and services that Soldier On will provide on-site, allows families to stay together, and in many ways, be treated and rehabilitated together. This will only support recovery at home.”
“It’s time we focused on the people behind the material capability,” he added. “We are not asking the government for an astronomical amount of funding for the facility. We are asking them to match what we have pledged from NSW State Government, philanthropic support and corporate backing. Public support will also be needed. We just hope the federal government will see the critical need for this facility and take the burden off the public.”
The 2018 NSW Government budget saw $341 million dedicated to Concord Hospital, a portion of which was for the refurbishment and development of the Defence Force Centre of Excellence.
Funding is still required from Federal Government to match philanthropic funding and Defence Industry funding. Industry sponsors include CSIRO, Harris, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, BAE, Northrup Grumman, and Boeing.
“There is no doubt that this facility will save lives. We were not ready to support those who were wounded in our most recent wars, especially Afghanistan. I saw this with those who were involved in the incident that killed Fuss. This facility would have been extremely beneficial, and it remains critical,” Bale said.
“We are spending $200 billion over the next 10 years to prepare for the next war, we have an opportunity to put some of this funding into preparing for the reality that any war produces casualties.”
Soldier On’s call for federal funding assistance comes ahead of the Invictus Games, to be held in Sydney in October. The Games feature over 500 wounded, injured, or ill servicemen and women from 18 nations competing across eleven sports, including archery, athletics, powerlifting, sailing, and volleyball.
The Veterans Employment Symposium will be held on the final day of the Games (Friday 19th October). Major participating industry partners include Raytheon, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Leidos, and Saab.