Evidence of meeting #41 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 services.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Cathay Wagantall Conservative Yorkton—Melville, SK
Right. Is the evaluation still under way, or has that been...?
Director, Family Services, Military Family Services, Department of National Defence
It has just been concluded. I received the draft report earlier this week. It has to go through our organization and the Veterans Affairs organization to be able to determine if the results of the first part of the pilot have been successful enough to consider moving forward.
Conservative
Cathay Wagantall Conservative Yorkton—Melville, SK
Veterans and their families were involved in that, so what's happening now? Are there no services being offered?
Director, Family Services, Military Family Services, Department of National Defence
Absolutely, services are still being provided and will continue to be provided right now until 2018 at a minimum. Veterans can continue to enter the program until 2018. They will still have two years, which is why there is that discrepancy in the funding. When they enter on that day, they will still have two years to conclude their participation in the pilot, even though the pilot itself may have concluded. Services will still be available.
Conservative
Cathay Wagantall Conservative Yorkton—Melville, SK
I know you're saying it's not done and it has to go through the organizations. Is there any good news you can give this committee on how effective it's been, and how many veterans...?
Director, Family Services, Military Family Services, Department of National Defence
What I can tell you is that veterans and families themselves are very encouraged and very supportive of the program.
Can I tell you where it's going to go? I don't have that information.
Conservative
Cathay Wagantall Conservative Yorkton—Melville, SK
Okay.
Jason, are you aware of the numbers, as far as how many veterans you're getting early on versus later on? I noticed you mentioned getting them out of the basement. We all know that when we're at the basement stage, that's getting more severe.
Do you see a difference between those you get earlier on and those who come in later? Are you seeing good results in both directions?
February 8th, 2017 / 4:25 p.m.
Conservative
Maj Jason Feyko
We've had people who have been on their own for years and who then finally put up their hand and say, “Yes, I need some support. What can you do for me?” We've had those who have been in a car accident, and a few weeks later they want some support. They are both beneficial, in their own way.
Hopefully, this next study will show exactly what you're looking for.
Liberal
Alaina Lockhart Liberal Fundy Royal, NB
We've heard that some military members are struggling, but they still meet the universality of service—so they're still serving—and the closest support they have is often their parent or their sibling or an in-law, or another family member.
In your work in the family resource centres, is there a possibility for those who are serving to transfer closer to that support system?
Director, Family Services, Military Family Services, Department of National Defence
I can't speak to that.
What I can speak to is that services at a military family resource centre aren't geographically dependent. Where a member may be in Petawawa and his parent may be struggling in London, Ontario, then the parent can go into the military family resource centre in London, Ontario to access services. It does not need to be in conjunction with their adult service member.
Having that adult child move closer to a parent or a family member is outside of my area.
Liberal
Alaina Lockhart Liberal Fundy Royal, NB
If, through the resource centre, veterans are referred for other services and there is a cost associated with that, is it paid up front, or is that something that's reimbursed to families? Or, are all of your services covered?
Director, Family Services, Military Family Services, Department of National Defence
It depends on the service that's being provided. For example, if it's respite child care, then those service are reimbursed. If it's access to mental health services and they're not provided provincially, then the family member can come back to the military family resource centre and ask for financial support to be able to access those services. It really depends.
Liberal
Alaina Lockhart Liberal Fundy Royal, NB
Okay.
I'm wondering if you see that as a barrier sometimes, that people aren't in a position to be reimbursed?
Director, Family Services, Military Family Services, Department of National Defence
That is a barrier.
We're finding that one of the learnings from the veteran family program is that it is a barrier. That is why in some of the seven pilot locations we have right now, one of the major areas of interest for veterans and their families is financial stability. A lot of programming is taking place—which is not common in the military family services program—around supporting families, establishing and maintaining strong financial ability, and then connecting them to those emergency resources they may need financially to get through something that's happening now, or long term.
Liberal
Liberal
David Graham Liberal Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Thank you.
I have a number of questions, particularly for Laurie.
When I left home this morning, my wife and my daughter were sound asleep. When I get home tonight, they will be asleep again. The impact on families is obviously something that I think all of us here take very seriously.
I wonder if you could speak a bit to the mental stresses, or just the stresses in general, on a family. It might be obvious, but I think it's important to put on the record what the impact of military service and post-military service is on the immediate family.
Director, Family Services, Military Family Services, Department of National Defence
The reason for the development of the military family services program 25 years ago was for exactly what you're speaking about. It's an excellent point.
Families at that time weren't acknowledged as an important contributor to operational effectiveness. Families need to support the member for their operational capacity, and vice versa. That really is the key to our program. Where our focus is around deployment, inherent risk, and geographical relocation, it's really about encouraging the family to get the supports they need when they need it. Where your wife may be feeling a sense of isolation because she doesn't get to see you, having a military family resource centre as a place to go, and to be that almost second family, is key to the program.
When it becomes more a matter of her being unable to focus or unable to do all of the caregiving responsibilities in a day because of things that are happening, that's what the military family resource centre is there for. It's to give a bit of assurance to the serving member that their family is being taken care of when they can't be there.
Liberal
David Graham Liberal Laurentides—Labelle, QC
Thank you.
Do you get involved at the point of recruitment? When somebody joins the military, do you at that point start warning them of what's going to happen and bring their family into the process, or does it only happen at the end?
