Supporting Families of Serving and Retired Members of the Canadian Armed Forces and First Responders

To find ways to better support families of military and first responders impacted by PTS, Medavie hosted a roundtable in partnership with Wounded Warriors Canada, the Mental Health Commission of Canada and The Vanier Institute of the Family in February 2019. [...] 18 Supporting Families of Serving and Retired Members of the Canadian Armed Forces and First Responders Living with Post-Traumatic Stress – A First Interim Report 5 BACKGROUND On February 5, 2019, Medavie co-hosted a Roundtable at Ottawa’s Fairmont Chateau Laurier in partnership with Wounded Warriors Canada, the Mental Health Commission of Canada and the Vanier Institute of the Family. [...] “Unless you give the same sense of priority, the same sense of urgency and the same level of care to the members of the family as to the member who has been affected, you will not achieve your aim. [...] The assumption of researchers and clinicians is that they want to jump out of the chair and be able to run the 100-metre dash; no, they want to go to the bathroom. [...] To build on the output of this meeting, and to keep the momentum going forward in making actionable change, Medavie is planning to convene a follow-up roundtable with the same group of experts and add the voice of family members.