Veteran Sandbox

 She Served AU Podcast – Season 1, Episode 4: Veteran Sandbox

⚠️ Trigger Warning: Suicide & Trauma

This episode discusses suicide.

Please take care while listening. 

Pause, step away, or choose not to continue if this topic is not right for you at this time.

If you need support, please reach out:

• Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling: 1800 011 046 (24/7)
• Lifeline Australia: 13 11 14 (24/7)
• Emergency (if in immediate danger): 000

In this deeply personal episode, Natasha Hilbers shares the story behind Veteran Sandbox—a frontline initiative born from grief, service, and an unwavering commitment to saving lives.

Following the loss of a close friend and fellow veteran she called the "Viking", Natasha reflects on the realities many in the veteran community face when seeking help—particularly in high-stimulation environments like Emergency Departments. Bright lights, noise, and long wait times can become overwhelming, especially for those already in crisis.

Veteran Sandbox is a simple yet powerful response. Designed to support sensory regulation and emotional safety, it includes tools such as noise-cancelling headphones, wraparound glasses, eye masks, and weighted blankets—providing immediate, practical care when it’s needed most.

Now successfully trialled at Bunbury Regional Hospital, this initiative is already making a difference. Natasha shares her vision for a national rollout, ensuring veterans across Australia have access to trauma-informed support the moment they walk through the doors of an ED.

This episode also introduces Vue2E, a communication tool designed to help veterans express their needs clearly during moments of escalation—supporting both the individual and the medical teams caring for them.

This is a conversation about loss, resilience, and purpose. It’s about recognising that frontline support saves lives—and that even one life is enough.

If you’re struggling, please know: you are not alone. Support is there, and your life matters.

Listen with care. Share with intention.

She Served AU – Voice for the Silent.

Transcript

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Natasha Hilbers 0:13

Hello and welcome.

Natasha Hilbers 0:14

I'm Natasha Hilbers and this is the She Served AU podcast, trigger warning. This is a space where we name MST, military sexual trauma, SV, sexual violence, and DV, domestic violence. If any of these topics are triggering for you, please take time, find space, come back when you're ready or not at all.

Natasha Hilbers 0:36

But if you do need help, please do reach out to the following organisations. The Open Arms from Department of Veteran Affairs, Lifeline, or the Amazing Anthina Project for Survivors. Their contact details are in the notes below.

Natasha Hilbers 0:52

Also, I'd like to acknowledge the traditional landowners on which I live and are recording today, the Nunga people of the Wandari Nation, and I respectfully acknowledge the traditional landowners past, present, and emerging. And I'd like to offer my respects by treading softly and listening deeply.

Natasha Hilbers 1:16

So find a comfy spot, relax, and this is the She Served AU podcast, and I'm Natasha Hilvers.

Peter Barr ABC 1:27

Are you okay when we talk about this kind of stuff? Radio Interview with Peter Barr on ABC WA Regional Mornings on 6th December 2024

Natasha Hilbers 1:31

Um, resilience is a wonderful thing, but no, I usually have a good cry, um, particularly when I talk about lost friends and colleagues over the years. It's it's harrowing, and the statistics out of the Royal Commission just absolutely highlights we need to be doing more.

Natasha Hilbers 1:45

We don't need statues and brand new buildings, we need frontline stuff, and this is it. I've been banging on doors for a long time about my initiative to anyone that would listen. I'm still waiting for a meeting with the minister over two years for defence veteran situations. But yeah, here we are. My husband and I decided to fund this ourselves.

Natasha Hilbers 2:04

Hello and welcome. This is Natasha Hilbers of the She Served AU podcast, episode four, the Veteran Sandbox. This is an initiative that comes from a very heavy topic. If you need to take time, find space, please do. Today I'll be talking about suicide, and I just wish for people listening to to be aware, to be informed, and to take time. Come back when you're ready.

Natasha Hilbers 2:33

Veteran Sandbox came out of the loss of a dear friend and a green machine brother, an affectionate soul I referred to as the Viking, and he's no longer with us. And even many moons after this event, I'm still impacted by it. That impact has then become purpose, and with this purpose, I've created Veteran Sandbox. So many times I've heard stories of people at two o'clock going to ED and they're needing help. And this is that part of life where we break when it's out of hours, when it's nothing is in the right place at the right time to facilitate the needs. Now, when we present to ED, any presentation is triaged according to need.

Natasha Hilbers 3:22

However, the veteran community, we have particular needs. And not saying that anyone's triage is higher or better ranks than others, but as a veteran walking into an ED with the strobing lights, with the the noises of the other people seeking care, it can be confronting.

Natasha Hilbers 3:44

And so out of this, I've created the veteran sandbox. And it is very simplistic in nature and works on the sensors, and that is noise-cancelling headphones, uh glasses that wrap around, which happen to be the Cancer Council Australia glasses, an eye mask. So the the side is to reduce the strobing or a simple blockout, whichever is preferred at the time. And then the weighted blankets. The weighted blankets are for your shoulders and also your lap. Simple, basic approach, frontline services.

Natasha Hilbers 4:18

This is where we need our veterans to be cared for at the front line. We we don't need new buildings, we don't need a statue, we don't need an expansion. We need frontline services that understand our specific needs. And I'm speaking from the loss of my Viking. I can't imagine how many people in the community that would benefit from this from a neurodiversity perspective, from a lights and sirens community. To to be presented in ED and to know that you have to wait, to know that, you know, we never plan for an emergency, we never plan for an ED trip. To have something like the veteran sandbox available. I firmly believe that if one life saved, is one life enough for me?

Natasha Hilbers 5:06

Because here we are. Our statistics show that we need help. The veteran community is hurting. So my ambition is a national rollout. The trial has been at Bunbury Regional Hospital and it started in 2024. So far, a successful implementation. Veteran Sandbox is available currently at the Bunbury Regional Hospital. You simply identify as a veteran to the triage team, and they will assess and work with you around how best to help you stay, seek the help you need, and to heal.

Natasha Hilbers 5:45

Part of the Veteran Sandbox is also the initiative that I'm rolling out shortly called the Vue2E, which is a laminated A4 printout of your presentation needs. So why you are there, your name, what you expect out of the presentation. But also on the back is a guide for the triage team of what to ask and absolutely what not to ask from a trauma-informed and trauma-aware perspective. I've been working with medical professionals around this guide of presentation questions for the amazing medical teams that we have in ED. But for the care and the structure of our veterans is to have that erasable A4 printout to say, hey, I'm escalating. Like, I don't need to keep talking about this. I just want to tell them that it's getting too much. So to let them know your score out of 10, this is where I'm at. Potentially I can find you a quiet room. Potentially we can see where we can get you to the next level of care. So again, if you're ever in this position where you need help, reach out and ask you're not alone. And the amount of times I look at the moon and I talk to my Viking and the family he never had. And those things in life that just hit too deep to even express in words, to know you are not alone, to know that there are so many amazing organisations out there to help you.

Natasha Hilbers 7:19

And potentially in your time of need, the veteran sandbox may be one of them, to know that you can go the distance, stay in ED, get the help, ask for what you need, tell them what you need.

Natasha Hilbers 7:32

So again, the ambition is to have a national rollout in all EDs and to have the ability to identify as a veteran. Again, triaged on your needs is triaged on your needs. But when you have a particular requirement around a noise factor or strobing lights or a triggering environment, then I think that that's a wonderful thing to be open and transparent about. And that's why I created the veteran sandbox. So again, in the notes below are contact details if you're in need of help and if this has been triggering for you.

Natasha Hilbers 8:11

But if you do need help, please do reach out to Open Arms or to Lifeline.

Natasha Hilbers 8:16

And I wish you well on your healing journey.

Natasha Hilbers 8:19

This is Natasha Hilbers of SheServed AU, and this is my project, The Veteran Sandbox. Thank you for listening.