Hi, everyone. Thanks for having me come to the session today.
I'm here to talk about the ability to reach new veterans, old veterans and everyone in between. I'd like to tell you a bit about the work that I've done.
I have approximately nine years of experience working with veterans, RCMP veterans, Canadian Armed Forces members and the family members of all of them. I held the role of the veteran family program coordinator at the P.E.I. Military Family Resource Centre for approximately five years. Prior to that, I did a lot of work with the organization, and I currently work with the Veterans Review and Appeal Board.
I am here today to represent as an individual. I'm not here as part of the Veterans Review and Appeal Board.
There are a couple of key topics that I want to bring forward today from the experience I've had in working with these clients of mine. The biggest thing is who a veteran is. In my experience, the definition of a veteran in various organizations and community supports is very different. I think we're doing a great job of trying to simplify it within government agencies and agencies that are at arm's length from the government, but even in the general public, the definition of a veteran has changed and continues to be at the forefront. It's the hot topic of who we're providing support and service to.
The veteran has been changing over the years. We're seeing that veterans are getting younger. Yes, some whose service was many years ago are getting older, but we're also seeing that there are a lot of younger veterans who perhaps don't identify as veterans although they are equally entitled to the supports and services that exist for all veterans. I think a lot of the education and information sharing has to come from the community outreach and public awareness we do.
As a veteran family program coordinator, I focused solely on educating the general public and on educating veterans, their families and everyone that they are a part of our community.
The next key topic I'd like to talk about is reducing the barriers and stigma around accessing support. To echo some of the comments that have been made, I'll use Prince Edward Island as the example. On the island, we have a large number of veterans and currently serving members within the regular force and the reserves, primarily reservists. We have RCMP members and we also have RCMP veterans.
Oftentimes, to access the support they need, specifically the medical support, they have to leave the island. They're often sent to the bases, the two biggest bases closest to Prince Edward Island, which are Gagetown and Halifax. In my experience of hearing from veterans, that is absolutely triggering. To return to somewhere they feel impacted negatively by is wrong. They also have the time commitment of having to travel off the island to access that service. There's financial strain that goes with that because the travel may not be covered. Some trips are covered through various supports, but not all of them are. It also adds to the impact on family dynamics. Sometimes the veteran can't take a loved one. Sometimes they wish they had or could. Sometimes they have to do that on their own, and that can absolutely be retraumatizing.
Release dates, medical conditions and the types of releases are all factors that impact the support and services that veterans receive in their post-service lives. It's crucial that there be up-to-date information on medical records and release records. I think we're doing a better job on the whole in having proper documentation, but I think there is still room for improvement. It's okay to not be okay. I strive to say that because I think we need to champion it and say that it's okay to step up and say, “I need help.” As the government and the general public, within that, we just need to advocate more for veterans accessing the support they truly need.
It's important to include families in this. With my experience in the veteran family program coordinator role with the P.E.I. Military Family Resource Centre, I feel that it's vital to include families in the release process. In my experience, oftentimes families are separated from the release process. They absolutely need to be included. It's critical that they are aware of the transition and the support they can access.
One example is counselling through the military family resource centre. Not many people know that it's a free service. Oftentimes, there is very little wait time. The counsellors are typically social workers, but they are a barrier-free resource that our families, the RCMP and veterans need to access.
I'll touch on the last point, access to information. This is a huge part of it. In my experience, veterans have been struggling to access the resources they're entitled to. Oftentimes, the veterans I've worked with have had, perhaps, barriers in accessing online resources. It becomes a cumbersome topic. It's triggering for them to log on to a computer, try to find information, interpret and comprehend it and then validate that it applies to them.
I worked really hard to help those veterans, but in my positions and roles, a lot of the time I was not allowed to because of the access to information. It's the ability to access, for instance, the My VAC account. That's something I was never allowed to access. As somebody who's well versed in technology and accessing online resources, I feel that I could have been a really great resource in helping them reduce the stress of simply logging on to a computer and trying to access that.
The other key point I want to mention is the impact of service records. It is absolutely crucial that service records are documented prior to release. I also want to mention that RCMP members should not be forgotten. As the daughter of an RCMP officer, I will say that oftentimes there are no resources for them and there needs to be.
Thank you for your time.