Question Period Note: MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE

MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE

• Veterans Affairs Canada is committed to ensuring eligible Veterans, retired RCMP members and their families have access to the mental health support they need, when they need it.

• The Department intends to implement, by April 1, 2022, a new mental health initiative allowing Veterans to obtain coverage for health services needed to treat mental health conditions, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Depressive Disorders, immediately following their application for a disability entitlement.

• This coverage could last up to two years or until a disability entitlement decision is granted. The proposed Mental Health Initiative is directly linked to VAC’s mandate to support the well-being of Veterans.

BACKGROUND — MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE

Veterans Affairs Canada supports the mental health needs of Veterans through a large suite of services. VAC funds a network of 11 Operational Stress Injury (OSI) Clinics across the country (+ 9 satellite service sites) operated by provincial health authorities. Additional satellite service sites are opened based on need. Funding for the ninth OSI Satellite Service Site in PEI was announced in September 2019, and delivery of in-person and virtual services started in early summer 2021.

Operational Stress Injury Clinics offer access (through referral) to an interdisciplinary team of mental health professionals who provide specialized assessment and treatment to Veterans, Canadian Armed Forces, active and former Royal Canadian Mounted Police members and their families. Veterans who qualify also have access to a national network of more than 12,000 registered mental health professionals across Canada, who deliver mental health treatments.

The Veterans Affairs Canada Assistance Service (1-800-268-7708) or TDD (1-800-567-5803) is a 24-hour toll-free help line, which offers face-to-face and virtual psychological support, bereavement support and referral services, to Veterans, former RCMP members, their family members or caregivers.

LifeSpeak is an online self-help resource featuring leading subject-matter experts on subjects such as depression, nutrition, financial health and parenting. This resource is available as a free mobile app from the Apple Store or Google Play, and at veterans.lifespeak.com. Password: canada (lowercase).

The Operational Stress Injury Social Support Service (OSISS) offers confidential peer support to Canadian Armed Forces members, Veterans and their families impacted by an operational stress injury. The support is provided by trained peer coordinators, family peer support coordinators and peer volunteers familiar with VAC and community resources. Toll-free number: 1-800-883-6094, or osiss.ca.

A Canadian Veteran-specific version of Mental Health First Aid, offering mental health literacy training to the Veterans community located across the country, is now available virtually through a partnership with the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

Veterans Affairs Canada has also collaborated with several partners to develop free online and mobile applications for Veterans and their families, such as PTSD Coach Canada; OSI Connect; Operational Stress Injury Resource for Caregivers; and an Online Caregiver Training Program.

Families of medically released Veterans can also access the Veteran Family Program through one of the 32 Military Family Resource Centers across Canada. This includes the Family Information Line and CAFconnection.ca.

As mandated by the Government, the Department provided funding to the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group to establish the Centre of Excellence on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Related Mental Health Conditions. The Centre opened in June 2019, and is actively working on increasing Canadian knowledge and expertise in the field of military and Veteran, mental health and more specifically PTSD.

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