Salvos adopt flannel shirts to honour those affected by veteran suicide
- deansimpson7
- Jun 16
- 4 min read
BY KIRRALEE NICOLLE
The Salvation Army is privileged to be partnering with an organisation that supports the families and friends of military servicepeople who have died by suicide.
The Flannel Project was begun by ex-Australian Army Corporal Elena Rowland, who lost a friend and former Army colleague, Shannen, to suicide in 2024. The organisation assists SOS (Survivors of Suicide) to access mental health and emotional care supports after an ex-military loved one dies by suicide.
Tragically, two women discovered Shannen’s body days after her death, and the trauma they experienced through this event led to a realisation for El, as Elena is known.
“The two girls who found her weren’t in the Army, and they weren’t veterans,” El said. “So, what happened was they didn’t get the support of any ESO (ex-service organisation).”
El’s concern for these two women drove her to initiate a fundraising effort to support their healing journey, but she said it rapidly expanded as more and more people needed this kind of assistance.
She then named the organisation after Flannel, Shannen’s beloved dog, who was also left bereaved. Later, she learned that the flannel flower is the symbol of mental health awareness in Australia.
El realised that while ex-servicepeople were supported by organisations such as Legacy and The Salvation Army when their military friends died by suicide, the friends and family were often left on their own with the emotions and trauma of the experience, particularly for those who found the bodies of the deceased.
“When somebody you know dies, even in the best possible way, it sends ripples and shock waves and everything, and you’re kind of shocked and not knowing what to do,” El said.
“What we do is we offer a lifeline called the SOS Card. When a person leaves the [military], they get a White Card or a Gold Card, which helps them to find the services they need to keep them functioning. [First] we get a needs assessment, and then we can put on [the card] everything that particular person needs, like whether it be food vouchers, shopping or running errands for them in that initial stage, we can load that card up with all the things that they personally need.”
While Australian males currently serving in a permanent or reserve military capacity have a statistically lower rate of suicide than males in the non-serving Australian population, ex-servicepeople have a higher rate of suicide – 26 per cent higher for ex-service males than the non-serving population, and a whopping 100 per cent higher for ex-service females, according to the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare’s monitoring between 1997 and 2022.
Salvation Army involvement
Defence Veterans Ministries Coordinator Captain Ali McKeand said she first partnered with El and the Flannel Project because she wanted to lend support to such a meaningful initiative with the trustworthy name The Salvation Army brought. She said an estimated 260,000 people in Australia had been directly affected by the suicide deaths of veterans since 1997.
She said while the Salvation Army was not an ex-serving organisation, it had always been good at helping people. She said to make sure this care was extended where it was most needed, she wanted to partner with organisations like the Flannel Project, which shared the same ethos and values as The Salvation Army.
“I think any suicide is horrifically tragic,” Ali said. “For me, it’s even harder when you think about who that person is and what they’ve done and what they’ve given. And then the ripple effect through the family, the friends, but also the ripple effect through units and through the military, I think, is probably far greater than the ripple effect in a normal workforce because you’ve worked so closely by that person’s side.
“You may not understand that this ripple effect is so huge and [that] it’s going to affect you.”
For El, the connection with The Salvation Army runs deep. As a child, she played the timbrel in the corps her parents attended.
“It’s just such an honour to be partnering up with the [Salvos],” she said. “It’s like a dream come true for me.”
As part of this collaboration, The Salvation Army’s Defence Veterans Ministries, Red Shield Defence Services (RSDS) and Emergency Services (SAES) will be joining The Flannel Project team at the Wear a Flan for Shan 5km Walk in Brisbane on 21 June.
The event, to be held in Orleigh Park, West End, will feature live music, food and drinks, as well as a ‘Silent Walk Home’ to remember those lost to suicide.
Attendees are encouraged to wear flannel, and Salvation Army representatives will be wearing flannel emblazoned with the red shield. SAES will provide food and refreshments at the event, and RSDS will bring a truck to offer a comforting presence, which Ali said was reminiscent of the Sallyman’s impact on the armed services for more than 125 years.
To find out more about the Flannel Project and Wear a Flan for Shan, click here.
