One veteran after another approached Seamus O’Regan at the Invictus Games last month in Toronto.
They were taking part in the international adaptive multi-sport event for wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel and their associated veterans. And each, rather quietly, just wanted to tell the veterans affairs minister that they are getting better mentally and their mental health issues, that could include depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety, are being well addressed.
“It was very heartening to hear that they did get the help they need and it did make a difference in their lives,’’ he told The Guardian during a visit to Charlottetown Friday to unveil the Veterans’ Week poster.
“These are Canadian veterans and these are private conversations. A lot of what will make the news are usually negative stories but there are a lot of positive stories out there that we don’t hear from and that’s the way it is because these are private stories – these are quiet stories.’’
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O’Regan says he is not interested in telling these stories to the world. He just wants the veterans suffering from mental illness to get well.
He believes both the Department of National Defence (DND) and his department are making good strides.
“The one thing that I know is that we cannot do enough,’’ he said.
“It’s really hard to gauge success in this because you can never do enough, but we have done a tremendous amount. We have a lot more front-line workers. We’ve trained our front-line workers and our case workers on mental health issues.’’
He says an easing of the stigma surrounding mental health is resulting in more veterans reaching out for help and, as a result, more are getting well.
O’Regan says he can relate to a certain degree with veterans struggling with mental illness.
He entered a wellness program over the Christmas holidays in 2015 in an effort to lead an alcohol-free lifestyle.
The former co-host of CTV’s “Canada AM” later became a mental health spokesperson for the annual Bell Let’s Talk campaign, which aims to open a national conversation on mental health issues.
Still, he concedes he could “never fully be able to appreciate’’ the experiences that have diminished the mental health of many Canadian veterans and active military personnel.
“We’ve gotten very good in this country – one of the best in the world – of professionalizing our soldiers once they get into the military,’’ says O’Regan.
“It’s our duty to prepare them to be a veteran – to prepare them for civilian life.’’
O’Regan says a number of veterans have expressed concern over finding doctors and in navigating the system for benefits and services.
He notes there is a “tremendous will’’ in both Veterans Affairs and DND to make appropriate improvements to allow for a smoother transition from military to civilian life.
“We understand how much better off people will be if we make this effort,’’ he said.
