Veterans Affairs committee  No, we are not currently a registered service provider with VAC. We were at one point in time, but that status was removed at the end of the contract that we had. Now we receive our funding from the department through the veteran and family well-being fund. While that provides us

Veterans Affairs committee  It was in 2018.

Veterans Affairs committee  We would love to be considered as service providers again. When our contract ended, we were told by the minister at the time that the contract couldn't be continued because the government does not do sole-source contracts. That was the reason we were given for that contract endi

Veterans Affairs committee  Mr. Chair and committee members, thank you for the invitation to speak with you this evening regarding a national strategy for veterans' employment after service. At first I wasn't sure that I would accept the invitation, because I didn't feel I would have anything to contribute

Veterans Affairs committee  Providing services and benefits to veterans in a timely manner would certainly help with decreasing the number of suicides, and trying to make veterans aware of the resources available to them to help them with their mental health issues. I think there are things we could do to r

Veterans Affairs committee  We receive calls every day from case managers at Veterans Affairs for any number of reasons. Sometimes it could be because the veteran doesn't qualify for the veterans emergency fund, or the veterans emergency fund is going to take too long, so they will send the veteran our way.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, we have a drop-in support centre in Ottawa. Our headquarters is in Dartmouth and we have a drop-in support centre co-located with the headquarters. We also have a drop-in in Edmonton that we operate on behalf of the Government of Alberta.

Veterans Affairs committee  We have access to one transitional apartment in Vancouver in conjunction with an organization called Community Builders. In Halifax we have two transitional apartments in partnership with The Salvation Army. In Edmonton, we have access to 15 transitional apartments in an apartm

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, absolutely. No two veterans are the same. No two situations are the same. We try to come up with plans for veterans based on their individual situation. There is no “one size fits all”. We listen to the veteran and we make suggestions on the things that we think could bene

Veterans Affairs committee  We do work closely with VAC, and the benefit is that we are able to help out with the emergency situation, sometimes to hold the veteran over until their benefits from Veterans Affairs kick in. There's that collaborative effort that happens between our organization and Veterans A

Veterans Affairs committee  We have volunteers who work around the clock. We have one national support services manager who works Monday to Friday, nine to five. Then, during the hours outside of that, we have volunteers who take the calls on a rotational basis, so we are literally 24-7.

Veterans Affairs committee  They're right across the country. We have hundreds. I think the number was approaching 500 the last time I checked. They are the backbone of our organization and are in every province and territory across the country.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes.

Veterans Affairs committee  No, what I said was to date we've responded to thousands of requests for assistance. In the past year, we've supported probably more than 500 veterans at this point. Lots of times with those veterans, it's not just a one-time thing. Sometimes veterans will come to us and we'll ge

Veterans Affairs committee  There are some veterans who are very well-known in the veterans community and there are some veterans who are connected politically, I guess you could say. It has been our experience—we've witnessed it a couple of times—where veterans who fall into that category have received wha