Veterans Affairs committee  VETS Canada is 100% volunteer-driven. There are no expense accounts, there are no salaries, and we rely solely on the generosity of Canadian citizens for our funding. We can only help those vets that we have the funding for. We are in constant fundraising mode. We are constantly looking for money because the task load that we face is growing exponentially as we move across the country.

Veterans Affairs committee  We don't actually track or keep stats on the reason somebody is homeless. We get it through osmosis from talking to them. So I couldn't put a percentage on it. I wouldn't even guess other than to say, like I said, we don't track that. What we do is we bridge that gap. That's all we're there for.

Veterans Affairs committee  It wouldn't be fair to our clients for me to give you a stat right now. I have nothing to base it on.

Veterans Affairs committee  It's entirely possible but with confidentiality and the way we deal with our clients, in all likelihood I wouldn't be all that excited about disclosing it.

Veterans Affairs committee  In the timeframe that I've been with the organization, there are 175 veterans who we've assisted. Now, the form of assistance can be very varied. Sometimes it just requires an extra tank of oil to get through the winter, sometimes it's just sitting down and talking with them to help them fill out forms, and other times they're at risk or on the street and it's helping them get back in the lifestyle.

Veterans Affairs committee  We're very non-judgmental. With a homeless person who makes it back into a secure lifestyle, oftentimes they have relapses and we'll help them again. To answer your question, we usually have a model of care that goes from 24 to 48 hours up to and including 18 months. Normally after 18 months they're in a pretty stable lifestyle and are able to go off on their own.

Veterans Affairs committee  We have volunteers across the country. We rely heavily on social media. Our Facebook page and our website have 100,000-plus followers, all like-minded individuals. While I won't tell you how many volunteers I actually have, I can say that we can reach anywhere in Canada at any time within six hours and provide assistance.

Veterans Affairs committee  Most of our clients, when we find them, as I said, are homeless. The problem with being homeless is normally you can't make it back into the system for a number of reasons, whether it's mental condition, addictions problem, that sort of thing. We bridge the gap between homeless and the system.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'd like to stress the reason I'm here, and the only reason I'm here is not to talk about amounts, and it's not to talk about whatever department administers the fund. I'm here to explain to everybody that post-traumatic stress—I live the dream every day—has a significant impact on the way you make adult decisions.

Veterans Affairs committee  Again, I'm going to stress that we're not here to talk about what we think is right or wrong about the charter. We're here to explain to everybody that the charter, the way it works today, because of people's decisions, is putting veterans on the street or at risk.

Veterans Affairs committee  No, not in the 18 months that I've been involved with it.

Veterans Affairs committee  Well, most of them live on the street, so they have a pretty negative view of the current charter. Whether it's right or wrong is really not important; the fact that they live on the street is what is important. When they get to the street, the way it works, normally, is that they've gone through their family, through all their friends, through the social support networks that they had.

Veterans Affairs committee  First off, I'd like to thank everybody for inviting VETS Canada to the committee. I'm going to talk a little bit about myself, and then jump into what it is that we do as an organization, which will subsequently illustrate why I'm here. With 32 years of service, I, too, have PTSD in my medical file.

Veterans Affairs committee  You go ahead.