Thank you, Louise.
The program Louise refers to, mental health first aid for the veterans community, improves knowledge about mental health and builds skills for recognizing and responding to mental health issues at the community level through the use of a tested, evidence-based plan of action. Through funding from Veterans Affairs Canada, this course is offered at no cost to participants.
The program improves the capacity of members of the veterans community and empowers them to address mental health problems and illnesses rather than simply directing them to government agencies. The veterans version of mental health first aid gives family members, community workers, and veterans themselves the tools to recognize a mental health problem and the skills to intervene until professional help can be engaged. These kinds of tangible programs put knowledge on the ground and in the community where it's closest to those who need it.
Last year alone, 14 courses were held across the country. Hundreds of members of the veterans community are now better prepared and better equipped to effectively address a mental health problem or crisis. Our goal for 2017 is to offer 40 veterans community training courses from coast to coast to coast.
Another program of potential interest to the committee is the commission's training called “The Working Mind”. It is an education-based program designed to address and promote mental health and reduce stigma related to mental illness in a workplace setting. It's based on the Department of National Defence's program as a foundation, the road to mental readiness, or as we call it, R2MR program. The training supports the mental health and well-being of employees and offers ways to talk about mental illness in a workplace context as well as means to combat stigma and encourage individuals to seek help when they need it.
The training is based on a mental health continuum model that categorizes one's mental health within a continuum. It allows individuals to identify indicators of declining or poor mental health and reinforces the reality that these indicators exist within a continuum and can move across the continuum. It contains strategies to help return to the best mental health possible. These strategies are based in cognitive behavioural theory techniques to help individuals cope with stress and improve their mental health. They're simple techniques that, once learned, any of us can do, such as purposeful diaphragmatic breathing, positive self-talk, visualization, and proper goal setting, the same kinds of techniques that Olympic athletes use to maximize their performance.
We're very excited to see that the most recent report of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security included R2MR training, mentioned several times as a training tool that could help.
As important as training programs are, work needs to be done now to implement a bolder plan that will save veterans' lives. I thank Dr. Merali for introducing the issue of suicide. The risk of dying by suicide is 32% to 46% higher for veterans than for other Canadians of the same age. Veteran suicide happens within the context of their community.
Last year, in the commission's pre-budget submission, we talked to members of Parliament and Veterans Affairs about a national community development suicide prevention model. The commission would be ready to swiftly deploy a sophisticated suicide prevention strategy in 13 communities across the country, one in each province and territory, and to focus projects on military bases or areas where there is a high veteran population. The project would cost $40 million over five years, a rather modest price tag when one considers the life-saving potential of such a project. The model is based on proven programs in Quebec and internationally that significantly reduced suicide rates by more than 20% in two years.
The suicide prevention project would provide a base of evidence for a nationwide suicide prevention program. The project would focus on specialized supports, including a range of prevention, crisis, and postvention services, such as crisis lines, support groups, and coordinated planning and access. It would provide training to better equip community gatekeepers—family physicians, first responders, nurses, managers, teachers, and others—by providing access to training and ongoing learning opportunities.
The commission would be honoured if the committee would consider reviewing this proposal in full during the course of its study. I'd be pleased to provide the full pre-budget submission proposal, as well as a full briefing note to the committee.
The commission is well positioned to work with all levels of government to continue to implement programs and training for veterans.
I'd like to thank you again for providing us with this opportunity to share some of our experiences with those issues, and I welcome your questions.