EDMONTON—There was a time when the only way to find veterans in crisis was to comb the streets of Alberta’s big cities in hopes of finding those former soldiers who desperately needed to be connected with emergency services, employment and housing.
“My friend had a World War II vet, near homeless, and the only way we could get in contact … was to go prowl the streets and find him,” said Gerry Finlay, command service officer for the Royal Canadian Legion’s Alberta-N.W.T. Command.
/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/edmonton/2018/11/09/alberta-investing-3m-into-new-service-centre-and-housing-for-homeless-veterans/vets.jpg)
/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/edmonton/2018/11/09/alberta-investing-3m-into-new-service-centre-and-housing-for-homeless-veterans/vets_2.jpg)
“There was no other contact. He was living in this hovel, just in absolutely deplorable conditions. And we were able to get some stability into his life, bring Veterans Affairs into play and get a disability pension for his military service recognized,” Finlay said.
Connecting veterans in crisis or at risk of homelessness with assistance such as financial aid, housing options, mental health programs, and employment and training services will now be much easier with the province’s announcement Friday of a “one-stop shop” Veterans Service Centre in north Edmonton.
It’s located steps away from a new transitional housing project specifically for veterans, in what is being hailed as a Canadian first.
“Alberta is leading the initiative on this,” said MLA Nicole Goehring, Alberta’s liaison to the Canadian Armed Forces, at the announcement. “I’m not aware of any other province that is doing this at this point.”
The apartment building, purchased and owned by the Alberta government, will house 15 homeless veterans as they prepare to make the move to permanent housing. The government has invested $3 million in the project, split between the apartment building and the service centre.
The service centre, expected to open before the end of the year, will be managed by Veterans Emergency Transition Services Canada, also known as VETS Canada. Edmonton was chosen as the service centre’s location because of the 246 veterans VETS Canada helped in Alberta last year, more than half were from Edmonton.
“I think what will really make this a success is that it will be a one-stop shop,” said Debbie Lowther, chair and co-founder of VETS Canada. “Veterans won’t have to travel all over the city to get the supports they require.”
That’s especially important for aging and injured veterans, who may have issues with mobility, or veterans with mental health challenges that make it hard to navigate the bureaucracy and paperwork needed to improve their lives.
VETS Canada will be hiring two full-time staff members to manage the centre, and there will be volunteers who are either serving members or veterans themselves to provide peer support.
“They don’t have to be homeless. They can still come in if they’re having difficulty dealing with Veterans Affairs Canada, if they’re having trouble with paperwork, if they’re having a struggle finding employment,” Lowther said.
Veterans are expected to begin moving into the apartment building in the coming months. As one of the project partners, the legion’s Alberta-N.W.T. Command has committed $75,000 to furnish the units.
Finlay said the announcement is a big step forward in helping veterans who are struggling.
“There’s a feeling of satisfaction for giving that individual a chance,” he said. “And housing for us is key — if you have that, you have a starting point.”
No comments:
Post a Comment