My name is Alan Knockwood. I'm also one of the representatives of the Assembly of First Nations veterans council. I represent Nova Scotia.
I will now talk about what the first nations veterans council has been undertaking in the research on homelessness among first nations veterans. I'll then talk about phase two of the letter of understanding.
The Assembly of First Nations has recently undertaken to support the first nations veterans council on investigating homelessness among first nations veterans in Canada. The research project will allow the Assembly of First Nations to identify the distinct ways in which homelessness impacts first nations veterans, such as compounding the impacts of direct and intergenerational trauma caused by the Indian residential school system and the sixties scoop, and PTSD as a result of military service.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that there is currently a lack of culturally appropriate support for first nations veterans, which leads to an increased risk of homelessness and contributes to first nations' overrepresentation in the homeless veteran population—