Re: Suicides

by **Lincoln** Wed 04 Dec 2019, 8:13 am

Suicide victim outside legislature was military veteran with depression, family says

CBC News · Posted: Dec 03, 2019

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-legislature-suicide-mental-health-1.5383081

by **Falcon** Wed 05 Feb 2020, 9:10 am

Australia launches inquiry into veteran suicide rates

Feb 05. 2020

Suicides - Page 2 Australia-launches-inquiry-into-veteran-suicide-rates_large

https://www.capebretonpost.com/news/world/australia-launches-inquiry-into-veteran-suicide-rates-406922/

by Jumper Wed 12 Feb 2020, 1:15 pm

Greater Victoria MP seeks to
remove self-harm as disciplinary
offence for Canadian Armed Forces

NDP’s third attempt to improve mental health assistance within

DEVON BIDAL / Feb. 12, 2020

Suicides - Page 2 20512206_web1_190812-BPD-M-Canadian-military-armed-forces

https://www.vicnews.com/news/greater-victoria-mp-seeks-to-remove-self-harm-as-disciplinary-offence-for-canadian-armed-forces/

by **SniperGod** Sun 08 Mar 2020, 7:13 pm

Self-Harm Should Be Dropped As Military Offence, NDP MP Randall Garrison Says

03.08.2020

Suicides - Page 2 5e6290c4230000781839ce58

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/self-harm-military-offence-bill_ca_5e628f1ac5b6670e72f7d0df

by **Edgefore** Wed 08 Apr 2020, 7:26 pm

Armed Forces reports 20 military suicides last year, largest number since 2014

April 08. 2020

https://www.ottawamatters.com/national-news/armed-forces-reports-20-military-suicides-last-year-largest-number-since-2014-2239212

by **Trooper** Thu 18 Jun 2020, 6:23 pm

New data sees small increase in veterans' historical risk of suicide

The Canadian Press
JUNE 18, 2020

OTTAWA — The federal government has released updated figures showing once again that Canadian veterans are at greater risk of suicide than those who have never served in uniform.

The new figures add two more years of data to an earlier landmark study published in December 2017, which analyzed the records of more than 200,000 veterans who had served between 1976 and 2012 to determine if they were more prone to suicide.

The new figures, which cover the period from 1976 to 2014, show men who had served in the military during that period were 39 per cent more likely to die by suicide than men in the general population, a three per cent increase from the first study.

The risk was significantly higher among younger male veterans, with those under 25 being 252 per cent more likely to kill themselves than non-veterans of the same age — a 10 per cent increase from before.

The new data also continued a trend showing that male veterans over the age of 55 were less likely to die by suicide than men of the same age in the general population.

The risk among female veterans was also found to be alarmingly high — 88 per cent greater than for women who had not served. That compared to 81 per cent in the previous figures. Age was not considered as great a factor when it came to women in uniform.

The statistical study does not delve into why veterans are at greater risk of suicide than the general population or the reasons for the slight increases among some segments of the community.

"Every veteran we lose is a profound tragedy and we need to continue to do everything we can to prevent veteran suicides," Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay said in a statement accompanying the release of the new figures.

"As part of that effort, the Veteran Suicide Mortality Study is an important tool in helping us better understand the complex and tragic reality of suicide within the veteran community."

The study published in 2017 was the first of its kind and appeared to confirm what until then had been only anecdotal evidence.

The federal government promised at the time to roll out more services and support to serving and retired military personnel through a new suicide prevention strategy.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2020.

https://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/news/new-data-sees-small-increase-in-veterans-historical-risk-of-suicide-1.24155778

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/veterans-affairs-canada-releases-annual-study-on-veteran-suicide-mortality-872252843.html

by Seawolf Wed 02 Jun 2021, 4:18 pm

News Release - June 02. 2021

2020 Report on Suicide Mortality in the Canadian
Armed Forces (1995 to 2019)

Report

by **Zoneforce** Tue 08 Jun 2021, 4:04 pm

16 Canadian Armed Forces members died by suicide in 2020, military says

By Staff The Canadian Press
Posted June 8, 2021

https://globalnews.ca/news/7931300/canadian-armed-forces-suicides-2020/

by Covert Fri 10 Dec 2021, 6:55 am

Suicide risk is higher not only for military, but also their families, new research shows

By Nadine Yousif . Mental Health Reporter
Fri., Dec. 10, 2021

Bonnie Rushowick’s son, Patrick, witnessed immense suffering during his time as an engineer in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Two years after his graduation from the Royal Military College of Canada in 2008, Patrick was deployed to Haiti to help in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake that killed 316,000 and affected millions. He was then deployed to Afghanistan, where 158 Canadian soldiers died during the mission. He was tasked with assisting one family after the death of their son in combat, while grieving his own close friend in the military who died by suicide.

“We weren’t aware of all this trauma, and how it would have affected him,” said Rushowick, who lives in Yorkton, Sask.

After serving 10 years in the military, Patrick died by suicide in June 2013, just shy of his 29th birthday. Shockwaves of grief hit his family and loved ones. Rushowick and her husband were devastated. Patrick’s siblings were also deeply affected; his sister attempted suicide six months after his death.

Suicide in the Canadian military is known to be more prevalent than in the general population — male veterans die by suicide 1.4 times more than other men, while the rate for female veterans is 1.9 times higher. But a new research review out of Queen’s University and the Centre of Excellence on PTSD is shedding light on how these deaths affect the families of those who serve in the military, including their parents and siblings.

The study found that not only are veterans and those actively serving face a higher risk of suicidality — thinking about, planning, attempting or dying by suicide — but their family members face a similar risk as well. Heidi Cramm, an associate professor in the School of Rehabilitation Therapy at Queen’s and lead researcher, said the evidence emerged in studies outside Canada that examined the mental health of military families.

“We don’t know very much about the Canadian military family experience around suicidality,” Cramm said, as it hasn’t been researched in depth. “In international literature, we see that families have been noted to have significantly increased risk of suicidality themselves.”

In the findings, factors that contribute to increased risk in military families include the stressful demands of military life; observing or hearing about suicide in the community; or losing a family member to suicide. Family-related factors may also increase risk for someone serving in the military, including family violence or a deployment leading to extended periods of absence.

But much of the research in the past has focused on how families can prevent the suicide of someone in the military, or how they can intervene if mental health issues arise. There is little information about what support families actually have to help the military member, or even care for their own mental health.

Cramm said the finding has led to a new set of questions: How prevalent is this increased risk in Canadian military families? Who is considered “family” in the Canadian military definition, and how can we involve them in policies around military mental health? Do these families have access to adequate and preventive mental health support?

“We’re at a point now where we have to look at these issues,” Cramm said. “We have to look at post-traumatic stress disorder as family issues, we have to look at suicide as a family issue.”

Unlike military families in the United States, Canadian military families do not have access to specialized health-care services available for military personnel or veterans, meaning they have to rely on the same provincial health services as the general population for support. Cramm said military bases and wings do have Family Resource Centres, but few families use them.

Suicide prevention, however, has come up as a big issue in Canada’s military community — Cramm said feedback collected by the Centre of Excellence shows it’s a priority for families, veterans, clinicians and researchers. “It’s a vitally important issue that carries such weight for family members across generations.”

Fardous Hosseiny, vice-president of research and policy for the Centre of Excellence, said he has heard from military families that they’ve felt like an afterthought when it comes to mental health planning and crisis prevention.

“We’ve heard quite a lot from family members that, ‘We’re happy to support our veterans their needs, but what about our own mental health struggles?’ ” Hosseiny said.

He added that the definition of family within the military has also been too narrow. Traditionally, spouses and children were the main focus of a soldier’s family unit and support, but it’s apparent other family members or loved ones can be affected.

For Rushowick, a public health nurse for decades, support after her son’s death came in the form of health benefits from her employer, as well as support from volunteers of the HOPE Program — a support network through National Defence for grieving military families that emerged after the Afghanistan mission. Rushowick has since become a volunteer herself, and has witnessed how military deaths can leave entire communities grieving.

Her daughter accessed support through Yorkton’s local emergency department, which connected her with psychiatric services and a therapist without much of a wait. “If we lived 50 kilometres away, we might not have been so lucky,” Rushowick said, as access to mental health care can be hard to come by.

Rushowick said she and her family miss her son every day, but are continuing to work through the grief and have ensured his legacy lives on. A bursary at the local high school has been created in his name, as well as an annual trophy for local army cadets.

But she added she hopes the conversation surrounding the mental health of military members and first responders continues to evolve, and that it will begin to envelop families as well.

“The family needs to be involved, so that they can be resilient and support the military member, whether it’s parents, whether it’s sibilings, or cousins,” Rushowick said. “No person is an island.”

If you are thinking of suicide or know someone who is, there is help. Resources are available online at crisisservicescanada.ca or you can connect to the national suicide prevention helpline at 1-833-456-4566, or the Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868.

TORONTO STAR

by **Colter** Thu 29 Sep 2022, 4:17 pm

WARNING: This story contains distressing details about suicide. It also includes details
about allegations of sexual assault which may be triggering.

A military officer accused of sexual assault took
his own life. Now his family wants answers

Murray Brewster · CBC News · Posted: Sep 29, 2022

CBC News

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