Veterans Affairs committee  Absolutely, I think that would be wonderful. As I mentioned earlier, the veterans community has been asking for a veteran-specific treatment program for quite some time. If that were to happen, it would make a lot of people very happy.

Veterans Affairs committee  I could talk about a program that we launched about two years ago called Guitars for Vets. The idea behind that came from when my husband was struggling with PTSD. He decided to pick up his guitar, which had been sitting in the corner for a long time, and it was very helpful for

Veterans Affairs committee  I'm not aware of any kind of training, so to speak. I know discussions are under way, so again, I think that issue is being recognized, and it definitely is important. I can speak from my own experience. When my husband was struggling with PTSD, I never knew if what I was doing

Veterans Affairs committee  I think it would probably be beneficial for everyone, and then it would be determined if it needed to continue. I look at that as almost like an Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor, if I could use that comparison. That's what I'm thinking of when I talk about having a peer assigned. It'

Veterans Affairs committee  We certainly haven't seen the numbers decline. If anything, we're seeing more, but I think that might be due to the fact that we have more and more volunteers out in the streets looking. I think improvements have been made. I know the department has assigned a case manager in ea

Veterans Affairs committee  I agree with that. We see a lot of veterans who, as you said, become adults in the military, and when they get out, they really have no idea how to function in society, how to do things like paying bills or things like, as my colleague here mentioned, going to the doctor, finding

Veterans Affairs committee  It's life skills, yes.

Veterans Affairs committee  The challenge in rural areas for us is that, first of all, we don't have a large volunteer base there. There's also a lack of resources. There's the challenge that veterans who live in rural areas also have to travel a fair distance to access the services they may require. It's

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, and they do. Our volunteers are very good. They will travel up to a certain distance. One of the questions we ask them when they go through the screening process is whether or not they're willing to travel to assist a veteran.

Veterans Affairs committee  Veterans Affairs contracted the Mental Health Commission of Canada to adapt their mental health first aid program for the veterans community. It's geared toward people like our volunteers, who deal with veterans who may be struggling with mental health issues. A group of about 10

Veterans Affairs committee  The Mental Health Commission of Canada is offering it. In most places across the country, it's being offered at the MFRCs, or basically wherever there's a location available. That was another thing we talked about in the adaptation process—where to hold this mental health first a

Veterans Affairs committee  I would like to say that I agree 100%. When our men and women join the military, they are basically just out of childhood. They join at 17, 18, and 19, and they have no idea who they are. Then they're turned into a soldier, a sailor, an airman, and at the end of that, they're not

Veterans Affairs committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and committee members. It's my pleasure to be here before you today. My name is Debbie Lowther, and I am the chair and co-founder of Veterans Emergency Transition Services, VETS Canada, but I'm also the spouse of a veteran of the Canadian Armed Force

Veterans Affairs committee  Again, I'd like to thank you for having me here today. I would like to focus again on the collaboration piece. I've probably said it here today already, but one of our sayings is “collaboration, not duplication”. I think it's really important for organizations and groups to wor

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes. When someone who has been living on the street for a number of years finally decides that enough is enough and they're going to accept the help.... We have a veteran right here in Ottawa actually who, as I said earlier, we helped transition from the shelter to his own apartm