I think the trust factor is big. As far as competency goes, no. I think any military family member or just even a civilian.... That can even be a benefit in itself. When I look across at a caseworker and I see a civilian, he or she has volunteered to be there. They've opted into that piece of work. Every civilian I've worked with has told me, they wanted to be there. This is their way of serving our nation, to reclaim and recapture, even it's just doing some administrative paperwork.
You talked about best practices. I got the sense that you tie your first responder community a bit closer to your military veteran community as well. That may not be a fair observation. And I think that's extremely wise, because at least in the U.S., many of our first responders—paramedics, fire, police—come from a military background. So when they transition out, it's intermediate before retirement, and they come into another very structured environment, one that is purpose- and value-driven. It's a good landing spot, if you will. But then you still have the same problems when that individual comes out of retirement from police, fire, or medical work.
My broader vision and hope is that the work we do in the U.S. for our military veterans will translate to our first responder community as well. We're taking notes of how well you do that here in Canada.