You're allowed 34 seconds.
Evidence of meeting #21 for Veterans Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was family.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #21 for Veterans Affairs in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was family.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC
We always hear about the delay-and-deny culture inside VAC, and that happens wherever I go to meet veterans, in whatever province. Is this based on a false impression? Is it based on incomprehension on the part of our veterans in terms of how the system is working? Is it because of their PTSD? According to you, is it true that in some cases there is a delay-and-deny culture?
4:50 p.m.
Colonel (Retired), Special Advisor, Vanier Institute of the Family
Are you referring to the Department of Veterans Affairs?
4:50 p.m.
Colonel (Retired), Special Advisor, Vanier Institute of the Family
For VRAB, I've had my folks talk to me about things, but for Veterans Affairs I have a different impression, both personally and from what my friends have told me. Are we talking about VRAB or are we talking about Veterans Affairs?
4:50 p.m.
Colonel (Retired), Special Advisor, Vanier Institute of the Family
My own experience is that it's largely a myth. I had a bad transition experience but I had outstanding follow-up. They didn't forget me, they didn't leave me alone, and they made me feel connected. That's all I needed.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Alaina Lockhart Liberal Fundy Royal, NB
I'll follow up on my colleague's question and give you an opportunity to talk about VRAB.
4:50 p.m.
Colonel (Retired), Special Advisor, Vanier Institute of the Family
Do I have to recuse myself because a classmate of mine is the acting chair?
I've heard about a lot of frustration with VRAB, and I think there are a number of far more educated colleagues who have appeared before you to give you far better detail than I ever could. I don't feel that I can give you the insight you're looking for.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
Alaina Lockhart Liberal Fundy Royal, NB
That's fair enough. I just wanted to give you the opportunity to answer.
Ms. Lowther, you mentioned that a lot of the veterans who have fallen between the cracks and are homeless at this time have felt overwhelmed with accessing Veterans Affairs services. Can you give us some examples of things that trigger that? Do you have any insight there?
4:50 p.m.
Co-founder, Veterans Emergency Transition Services
For some veterans, just walking into a Veterans Affairs office is a trigger for them. We often talk about the “brown envelope syndrome”. When you get communications from Veterans Affairs, they're in a brown envelope. We have veterans tell us that they have a pile of brown envelopes, and they don't open them. There could be important stuff in there, but they just don't open them. A lot of the veterans who are overwhelmed have already applied for benefits and been denied, and due to their frame of mind at the time they just don't have the fight in them to continue that.
Usually when we come in contact with a veteran we say that the first thing we're going to do is take them to Veterans Affairs, and they say no, they want nothing nothing to do with Veterans Affairs. We have to explain to them that it's kind of cutting off your nose to spite your face. That's where we come in at times to act as a buffer, and it usually makes the process a little smoother.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Alaina Lockhart Liberal Fundy Royal, NB
Based on a lot of what we've heard, I think we understand why they have that reaction.
I am curious about the brown envelope, though. What is it about brown envelopes that's so negative? Is that always the way bad news is delivered?
4:55 p.m.
Co-founder, Veterans Emergency Transition Services
Well, everything that comes from Veterans Affairs is delivered in a brown envelope, and people are accustomed to getting bad news, I guess, from the department at times, such as the people who have applied for benefits and been denied.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Alaina Lockhart Liberal Fundy Royal, NB
One of the things we've talked about is the personal touch versus brown envelopes. In your opinion, would that be helpful?
4:55 p.m.
Co-founder, Veterans Emergency Transition Services
Yes, absolutely. One of the things we hear about as the most common reason for delays in decisions being made is paperwork not being completed properly. If the case manager could sit down with the veteran and help them with that paperwork, so that they make sure it's completed properly, I think that would go a long way.
Yes, I think the department has to tailor their communications style depending on the veteran they're dealing with. The 95-year-old probably doesn't have a My VAC Account. He probably doesn't have the app on his phone. Then there are some of the homeless people we deal with who just don't have access to the Internet or who go to the library to access the Internet.
Everybody has a different communication style, so I think it would be beneficial to—
4:55 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Vanier Institute of the Family
If they're relying on their family as a source of support, families don't have access to My VAC Account. They don't have their own account, so they can't help them answer the questions.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
Alaina Lockhart Liberal Fundy Royal, NB
That was my next question, actually. From a family perspective, do you have any recommendations for families to be able to access services? If we're talking about veterans who are trying to hide, whether it's in the basement or wherever, they're not going to make that call, so do you have any recommendations on how we get the families connected to services?
4:55 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Vanier Institute of the Family
We're hearing from families first and foremost who want to have the family as a designated client so that they can provide and receive information on behalf of themselves and the veteran, and so that they will also have an identifier that will identify them as a military veteran family so that they can advocate on behalf of and they can go along with and they can be that facilitator between a case manager and the veteran. We're hearing this not just from spouses but also from parents, because it's often those young men and women who are in the basement and not coming out. Most of the family support is structured around spouses and partners and not parents, so that's another element that needs to be taken into consideration.
4:55 p.m.
Colonel (Retired), Special Advisor, Vanier Institute of the Family
But the research does tell us that caregivers are not just partners. A caregiver is part of a pie chart of friends, aunts and uncles, and parents; it can be a brother or sister; it can be an older sibling. It can also be a spouse. A veteran identifier, a My VAC Account, and the family getting access to work with the veteran as part of the circle of support are all absolutely critical, and I think these things could achieve the kind of outcome you're after, which is faster, more efficient, and more effective support.
If we look at it from an outcome point of view, it makes a lot of sense to grant the family access. The evidence tells us they're impacted by military service. They're impacted by injuries to veterans. That presents the linkage for policy and programming to step up and say, “We can do this. Give them an account and let them be part of the solution.”
4:55 p.m.
NDP
Irene Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
We've been talking about family as client and family as advocate. I wonder if you have any insights or advice with regard to veterans who don't have that family network. How are they supported? Is there something that VAC should be doing in terms of making absolutely sure that this lone veteran is supported?
