JPIMedia Investigations' Veterans In Crisis campaign nets honour at the Mind Media Awards 2019

The investigations team at The Gazette and its sister titles across JPIMedia was praised for its work as it won at the Mind Media Awards 2019.
The JPIMedia Investigations team won in the Publication category at the Mind Media Awards 2019, held in London on Wednesday, November 13, 2019. From left-right: JPIMedia's group content development director Tim Robinson, investigations news editor Claire Wilde, The i newspaper's chief reporter Cahal Milmo, and Yorkshire Post reporter Ruby Kitchen (Picture: Chris O'Donovan)The JPIMedia Investigations team won in the Publication category at the Mind Media Awards 2019, held in London on Wednesday, November 13, 2019. From left-right: JPIMedia's group content development director Tim Robinson, investigations news editor Claire Wilde, The i newspaper's chief reporter Cahal Milmo, and Yorkshire Post reporter Ruby Kitchen (Picture: Chris O'Donovan)
The JPIMedia Investigations team won in the Publication category at the Mind Media Awards 2019, held in London on Wednesday, November 13, 2019. From left-right: JPIMedia's group content development director Tim Robinson, investigations news editor Claire Wilde, The i newspaper's chief reporter Cahal Milmo, and Yorkshire Post reporter Ruby Kitchen (Picture: Chris O'Donovan)

The Veterans in Crisis campaign was described by the mental health charity as an “excellent investigation” which “explored British ex-service personnel experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, and the stalled NHS suicide prevention plan”.

This newspaper revealed how the UK does not monitor the number of veterans taking their own lives, unlike allies such as the USA, Cananda, and Australia.

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The Government subsequently announced a raft of improved support measures and a major study into veteran suicides, with charities crediting the JPIMedia investigation for prompting the changes.

A series of hard-hitting articles and personal testimonies from veterans and their families ran in titles including The Gazette, the Lancashire Post, i, the News (Portsmouth), The Scotsman, the News Letter (Belfast), and the Yorkshire Post throughout 2018 and '19.

Tim Robinson, group content development director at JPIMedia, said: “We are really grateful to receive this award, it’s a vindication of the all the hard work put in by our investigations reporting team.

“Mental health issues among military veterans are not given the attention they deserve and the hidden epidemic of suicides in this community is a national scandal which demands to be recognised and tackled.

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“We are very grateful to Mind, and most importantly, to the ex-servicemen and their families who shared their many painful stories with our reporters in the course of this investigation - stories which had deep emotional resonance with our readers across the UK.

“It’s now over to the government to respond with commitment and action for ex-service personnel.”

BBC Radio One DJ Greg James hosted the awards ceremony at London’s Southbank Centre last night.

Other winners included actor David Harewood, who opened up about his mental health in BBC documentary Psychosis and Me, and ITV’s Lorraine Kelly for her taboo-breaking Shine a Light campaign.

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Dr Walter Busuttil, medical director at Combat Stress, said: “I would like to congratulate JPIMedia Investigations on their well-deserved Mind Media Award.

"Their investigation last year helped to convince the government of the urgent need to launch a major study into veteran suicides. With this information, Combat Stress and other organisations will be better placed to help veterans and do all we can to prevent them taking their own lives.”

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