Thank you very much. Would you mind if I responded in English?
It's easier for me. I don't have all the vocabulary.
I have worked with homeless veterans through Soldiers Helping Soldiers, and while it's a small group—with groups in Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto—the one thing we notice is that women veterans are absolutely invisible. They could be living rough, meaning they're couch surfing, or they are homeless and lost in the system. You can't find them. When you bring them in, you can clump them with other men veterans, but many have suffered significant abuse—military sexual trauma, etc.
I was certainly excited to hear about the announcement today. However, I think it's going to be critical that we look at pushing forward with sex- and gender-specific research on who homeless women veterans are, as well as on some of the—I say root causes—complex issues that contribute to homelessness among women veterans. Of course, there is also a requirement that VAC step up and look at sex- and gender-specific programs to move them beyond homelessness into benefits.
It is a very dire problem. What we aren't talking about are those who don't make it—those who overdose, who commit suicide, who die at the hands of violent abuse. I think this announcement is promising, but I didn't once hear the word “woman” in there.