Why is Operation Life important?
The Australian Government Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) mental health policy promotes positive mental health through effective prevention, early intervention, treatment and rehabilitation as an important commitment to improving and maintaining the health and well-being of the veteran community.
The National Suicide Prevention Strategy for the veteran community - 'Operation Life' links closely to the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Living Is For Everyone and the Australian Defence Force KYMS – Keep your Mates Safe. These Australian Government Initiatives are aimed at strengthening approaches to reduce the risk of suicide including taking a strategic approach to suicide prevention across specific communities.
Who benefits?
Operation Life provides a framework for action to prevent suicide and promote mental health and resilience across the veteran and DVA communities.
What does Operation Life deliver?
The Operation Life framework identifies five priority areas:
- promote resilience, mental health and well-being across the veteran community through education, training and self- awareness;
- enhance protective factors by reducing risk factors for suicide and self-harm within the veteran community eg: The Right Mix - your health and alcohol, staff mental health literacy training and ready access to health providers;
- deliver support through the VVCS - Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service and allied health services for veterans and their families at increased risk of suicide;
- develop partnerships with the veteran and ex-service community through such areas as the men's health peer education facilitators and TIP trainers; and
- research the evidence base for suicide prevention and good practice through such projects as 'Ageing and psychological symptoms in the elderly veteran'.
How does it work?
To promote and disseminate the Veteran Suicide Prevention Strategy - Operation Life, a communication strategy disseminates the components across the broader veteran and DVA staff communities. Members of the veteran community play an important role in contributing to the efforts to prevent suicide across Australia.
What funding is the Australian Government committing?
DVA will continue to support veterans at risk of suicide through specific actions such as the payment of course fees for the veteran community.
When did Operation Life start?
1 July 2007.
How is Operation Life progressing?
An evaluation of this strategy will be reported on in the annual report 2007/08.
What's been done in the past?
In 2001, the Australian Government Department of Veterans' Affairs agreed to work closely with ex-service organisations (ESO) to address the high rate of suicide in children of Vietnam veterans. DVA thus entered into an agreement with Lifeline to deliver ProgramASIST courses to the veteran community. ProgramASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) is a two day program under the auspice of Lifeline Australia and delivered by Living Works Education.
Page currency, Latest update: 20 September, 2007