First of all, I had difficulty filling out the forms. I had to explain what had happened and the reason for my request. Many veterans have symptoms of post-traumatic stress. When they see the paperwork, they get very stressed and anxious and often won't apply because they can't fill it out. It's like standing in front of Mount Everest, without a rope, with only their hands to climb to the top of the mountain; it's impossible. For them, it's impossible to fill out these documents.
Because I left the forces for medical reasons, I was entitled to 90% of my salary. If you only knew what a big stack of paperwork I had to fill out. To me, it was like a mountain. I was lucky that my wife was there to push me and encourage me to fill out the paperwork to access these benefits. I found it extremely difficult, but I finally got a response to my application. Someone called me and said that it showed I had done my homework, because everything was filled out correctly.
Why did it take two years? I have no idea. Before there were veterans' groups in Canada, 22 veterans died every day, then that number dropped to 14 a day. I want to be very clear: 14 veterans die every day.
Veterans' groups try to bring these people out of isolation. Often, people shut down and no longer leave their homes. There is no more light above and they spiral down even lower. The longer that happens, the less light there is. They live in darkness and at some point, it just loops over and over in their head. That's all they think about and then they end it all.
As a veteran, I try to help these people, to get them out of their homes, out of isolation, so that they can talk to someone who will understand them. Not everyone wants to go and see a psychologist. Some of them believe that a psychologist doesn't know anything about combat, even though there are some who specialize in the field. Personally, I got psychological help and I'm quite happy about it. I did a mental health first aid course for veterans. It helped me to see that I had a psychological problem too and I was able to access services. I am very happy about that. Now, my anxiety has decreased. It gave me tools to try and control my anxiety and stress. So...