Cohesive support, compassion, understanding..

The ‘invisible injury’ of mental health has been a huge issue for military personnel and their families for decades, far too often people
see suicide as their only and final solution after months and years of trying to get cohesive help. The OiTM project aims to address the
structure of support and understanding…Our grateful thanks to the Armed Forces Covenant Fund for making this initiative possible.

Undertaking research

The Baton’s partners are currently undertaking research with bereaved families who are already involved with the project. Qualitative
research is being undertaken to understand the decision process around their loved ones’ decision to take their own lives, and how
this understanding can facilitate an intervention process that will be successful.
Collaborative working is expected as part of this programme, with projects required to show that it will be likely to reduce suicides in
veterans through providing direct support to groups of veterans who are at significant risk of suicide and are not accessing support;
or delivering a project that will have a clear and demonstrable impact on suicide prevention through changing how support is offered
to save lives.
The Baton and its partners also aims to partner with the NHS to help deliver their safety model across the UK and evaluate this model
of care in terms of its wider use for other sectors, such as the NHS and blue-light workers.