In the case of veterans who are leaving the service now, we've heard from different veterans that some of the people helping them are fantastic at getting them all the services they need. For example, we had one who served for 38 years, and he's using my food bank. Why is that happening?
We advocate for them as a go-between when they ask whether they have any benefits when they leave and are told, “No, you're good. You have your pension.”
We make sure that for every veteran who comes through that door, whether it's for food services, the Pet Promise program or the emergency fund program, the first thing we do is fill out that VAC paperwork. We've had quite a good success rate lately because of the relationships we've built with Veterans Affairs. That is the number one thing that we do.
I think we need better education. Don't be discriminatory to anybody. It doesn't matter if you're indigenous, green or yellow. Who cares? I think there has to be more in the line of teaching people that these men and women signed on the dotted line to save us and to protect us. You have a job because they have done this for you. I think really pushing that their service is that valuable in the lives that you all live is something that Veterans Affairs could really focus on.