I would like to follow up on that. I can actually say the support of Veterans Affairs for the OSISS program is really helping to change the stigma that's out there, both in society as a whole and within individuals.
There are 17 peer support coordinators working in the program, and 15 of those individuals are working from back offices. Within the back offices now there are individuals who are veterans and are actually clients of our department. They have gone through treatment, have recovered, and are out there helping other veterans. They are greatly assisting in our offices to help with the understanding and awareness of what it's like for individuals to live with these kinds of injuries. There is a lot of consultation between the Veterans Affairs staff and the peer support coordinators when they discuss what it's like to live with the impacts on the individuals and on their families. I think it's a big advantage.
At our OSI clinics, our operational stress injury clinics, we also have two family members, two family peer support coordinators who work from the clinics. It's another way of bringing in those who have lived the experience and who are prime examples showing that if they get into treatment early, they can recover and get back into society to fully contribute, to work, and to have fully functional families again. I think it's a big step in helping to raise awareness.
I think the article Mariane has referred to is an excellent article. It talks about stigma, the two kinds of stigma. It talks about societal stigma, which we all know is out there, as it relates to operational stress injuries. It also talks about self-stigma, the self-stigma within the individuals themselves.
In OSISS we're promoting early treatment, identification of the problem, and treatment. The self-stigma is part of what prevents people from getting into treatment, because they feel if they self-identify, it's going to have an impact on them in one way or another. We can encourage folks to come forward early, because if they get into treatment early, the recovery time is much shorter, with fewer impacts on them as individuals and on their families.