Prince Harry Joins Veterans’ Mental Health Conference
with Heads Together
KING’S COLLEGE, LONDON
Thursday 16th March 2017
Prince Harry will attend the Veterans’ Mental Health Conference at King’s College London on Thursday 16 March, where he will lead a panel discussion with three veterans on the benefits of having open conversations and getting the right support for a range of mental health issues.
The event is organised by the King’s Centre for Military Health Research with Forces in Mind Trust. Prince Harry is attending as part of the Heads Together campaign to change the conversation on mental health which he leads with The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and which includes Contact, the military community mental health coalition. Contact aims to make it easier for veterans, service personnel and families to find the right help for the full range of mental health issues, including anxiety and depression.
The Prince will open the conference by leading a panel discussion with three former members of the UK and US Armed Forces: Caroline Buckle, Ivan Castro and Philip Eaglesham. They will have a group discussion about their personal experiences of addressing and managing mental health challenges, and the importance of the Armed Forces community working together to encourage an open attitude about mental health.
Prince Harry will then join delegates to listen to presentations throughout the morning which offer international perspectives on military mental health in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America. King’s Centre for Military Health Research is the leading civilian UK centre of excellence for military health research. The conference includes contributions from academics and experts in health, the military, and military support services.
After the morning session concludes, Prince Harry will also have the chance to speak to Ivan Castro, a US veteran who was blinded in Iraq, and Karl Hinnet, a UK veteran badly burned while also serving in Iraq. Karl and Ivan are running together in the Boston Marathon, for Heads Together, before taking on the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon as part of Team Heads Together, six days later. Heads Together is the Marathon’s Charity of the Year.
Contact is a collaboration of leading military charities, support organisations, the NHS, the Ministry of Defence and top academics working together to make the most effective mental health support easily accessible to Service Personnel, Ex-Service Personnel and their families. The Contact coalition incorporates: Big White Wall; Cobesco; Combat Stress; Help for Heroes; Kings Centre for Military Health Research; Kings College London; Ministry of Defence; NHS Wales; NHS England; The Royal British Legion; Uk Psychologolical Trauma Society; Walking With the Wounded; Veterans First Point.
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