On 31 January 2018, CFB Kingston held its annual “Bell Let’s Talk” event at Thompson Drill Hall. This day is dedicated to raising awareness and shedding the stigma of mental illness across Canada. Many Canadians are affected directly or indirectly by the suffering of a loved one with mental illness and issues such as depression, anxiety, suicide, and PTSD can affect military members inordinately.
This year’s event featured a discussion panel where panelists shared their experiences with mental health injuries and/or illness, highlighting the need to end the stigma. They also shared resources available to CAF members and their families who may be suffering in silence.
Around 265 military members and civilians attended the event. Throughout, attendees were encouraged to tweet and use the #BellLetsTalk hashtag as Bell would donate five cents to mental health organizations for every interaction. Overall the Bell website reported 138,383,995 interactions, which led to a $6,919,199 donation to mental health organizations in Canada.
The first panelist was veteran Tom Martineau, who served in the Forces from 1977-1994, completed 3 UN tours, and was subsequently wounded on his last tour. He described to the guests his journey following the injury and medical release from the military; suffering from PTSD, struggling with addiction, and eventually seeking help. Tom began volunteering with the Operational Stress Injury Social Support Program (OSISS), and in 2005 was hired within the organization as a Peer Support Coordinator. He has also competed in the Invictus Games, and he continues to support OSISS and share his story and inspire others.
Hailing from Grand Manan New Brunswick, the next panelist, Lieutenant-Colonel Jeremy Small enrolled in the Regular Office Training Plan in 1995 and graduated from the Royal Military in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. He began his career in 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group from 1999 to 2007, also completing a deployment to Afghanistan and the Army Operations Course during this period. Following completion of Basic Signal Officer training, he served in various command and staff positions throughout his military career to eventually assume command of 21 Electronic Warfare Regiment in June 2016. Describing a chronic medical ailment as a result of deployment, and Lieutenant-Colonel Small discussed his struggle with mental illness, the effect it had on his family, and the steps he took to seek treatment.
The next panelist was Lt(N) Marie-Claude Lambert, the new Base Social Worker. She began her career as a civilian social worker before joining the military in 2011. She has served in Halifax, Gagetown and Valcartier, and has now been posted to Kingston, following the birth of her 1 year old son Édouard. She has participated in one CAF Triathlon Nationals and a few CAF Running Nationals, and hopes to participate again this year. She discussed how running goals is one way for her to help maintain her mental health, and how the work they do can help others find the path to their own mental wellness. She described the various services they offer and the respect and confidentiality with which they serve the members.
The final panelist was LCol (Ret) Dave MacLeod, Services Manager IPSC Det Kingston. He began his military career in 1986, and moved up through the ranks. Serving multiple deployments, including to Cyprus and Bosnia, he eventually moved up to Deputy Base Commander for CFB Kingston from 2003-2007 and Base Commander in 2007 and 2008. Since then he has worked for LFDTS HQ, Army Command Chief Standards Officer from 2008-2012, and was medically released in 2012. Following his release, he went on to obtain his Masters in Public Administration from RMC in 2013, and has been appointed the Services Manager for the Integrated Personnel Support Centre (ISPC) Kingston. This organization assists military members recovering from injury, and when required, assist in the transition from the military to civilian life, with core services that include return to duty coordination, transition planning assistance, casualty tracking, outreach, leadership and supervision, advocacy services and designated assistant disengagement and support to families.
For more information and resources, see the links below:
Addressing the Stigma of Mental Health Video: http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/video.page?doc=addressing-the-stigma-of-mental-health/htfhtue8
Bell “Let’s Talk” Website: http://letstalk.bell.ca/en/
CFB Kingston Health Promotion: https://www.cafconnection.ca/Kingston/Adults/Health/Health-Promotion/Resources-and-Links.aspx