The Tema Conter Memorial Trust, a Toronto-based charity also known as Heroes Are Human, selected Ms. D’Aliesio to receive its 2015 media award in the newsprint category.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail/The Globe and Mail
Globe and Mail reporter Renata D'Aliesio has been honoured for her investigative series on military suicides.
The Tema Conter Memorial Trust, a Toronto-based charity also known as Heroes Are Human, selected Ms. D'Aliesio to receive its 2015 media award in the newsprint category. The award, which will be presented on Feb. 27, is given to individuals or media organizations that have made significant contributions to the public's understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and how psychological stressors affect military members and emergency-service workers.
"With her extraordinary dedication to a thorough, unhindered investigation, Renata D'Aliesio has brought facts and realities out of the shadows, and helped our military personnel suffering operational stress injuries and PTSD to know that they are not alone," said Vince Savoia, executive director of the organization. "Moreover, Renata's in-depth coverage makes the indisputable case that inaction and secrecy are no longer tolerable."
Ms. D'Aliesio's stories revealed that at least 62 military members and veterans have killed themselves after serving in the Afghanistan war. This toll is in addition to the 158 soldiers who died on the mission, which began after the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and ended in March, 2014. It was Canada's longest military operation.
The Globe series also examined the lives and suicides of four infantrymen from the Gagetown base in New Brunswick. They were all husbands and fathers – all struggling to cope with the mental trauma of war.
The Tema Conter Memorial Trust provides peer support, family assistance and training to public-safety and military personnel dealing with operational stress and PTSD. The work of Becky Coles from Newstalk 1010 and Alberta paramedic John Garth MacDonald will also be on honoured on Feb. 27.