National Defence committee  Sir, my take on it is that I really don't think that PTSD makes any distinctions—and this is strictly from my point of view—on who it's going to hit. They say it can happen to some of the finest. I'm dealing with people of a lot of different ranks, and I haven't seen it being lim

National Defence committee  I don't think that it's fair for me to comment on that, because my role is strictly peer support. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not a psychologist, social worker, or anyone from a mental health background. I don't offer any advice to my peers about medications or any types of thera

National Defence committee  Sir, one of our biggest assets is that we listen to these individuals without judgment. Yes, there is a lot of fear on the soldiers' part--fear of being branded or labelled by peers, or being shunned or ostracized by peers. A lot of times in the CF world, these symptoms are seen

National Defence committee  I can really speak to this, sir, being from Newfoundland. We have a lot of rural and outlying areas. Currently I work in St. John's, in the Veterans Affairs district office. However, I'm responsible for the other bases in Newfoundland, Gander and Goose Bay. I think one of the k

National Defence committee  At the end of the day, they're all soldiers, so right from the beginning they want to help. We know the peers. I spend time with them and talk to them. I see them face to face. In Newfoundland I have the luxury of having a lot of these individuals come to major centres, so we b

National Defence committee  Sir, I think the third-location decompression in Cyprus has been a great thing. When I came back, I ended up slipping through the cracks because I was very unaware of what resources were out there for me. When I was in Cyprus it was quite encouraging to see soldiers of all ranks

National Defence committee  I'd just like to add to what Cyndi is saying. I'd like to break her job into two percentages: 75% of her job, I think, is peer support; the most important and first percentage, for me, is 25% on self-care. In order for me, Cyndi, and other folks in our program to be able to help

National Defence committee  Sure. Sir, in working with a number of peers, of course, as the colonel said--I'm not going to get into the aspects of reintegration--I am working with some peers in the province who have successfully reintegrated back into the military. Right now I have an individual who is ac

National Defence committee  Good day, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Shawn Hearn and I'm the peer support coordinator for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. I was born in 1972 in St. John's, Newfoundland, and was raised in a very small community, a place called Colinet on the east coast. I now liv