Veteran Homelessness / Topics & Posted Articles

Homeless vets need support: Editorial

It’s a classic military Catch-22. Soldiers who need mental health care dare not seek the help they need for fear they’ll be forced out of the military because they’ll be deemed unfit for active duty.
The fallout? A new study finds that 2,250 former soldiers use homeless shelters across Canada on a regular basis. They cite alcoholism, drug addiction and mental health issues as the reasons they are homeless.
It’s got to stop. Soldiers who need mental health care must feel free to seek it while they are still enlisted without fear of losing their jobs. And as the Star has previously argued, once they’ve sought help, they should be reintegrated to active duty or found meaningful employment elsewhere in the forces. If they are found mentally unfit for duty under the “universality of service” policy, they should be retrained and placed in civilian jobs or given substantial financial support.
In short, the Canadian Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs must do a better job of taking care of those who put their lives on the line for Canada.
The need for help is great. A 2013 report found that one in three soldiers involved in combat operations risks suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depression during his or her lifetime. Other studies have found that men in the military report depression at double the rate of the rest of the population while the risk of suicide is about one and a half times higher.
Indeed, the study from Employment and Service Canada estimates the number of former soldiers who are homeless is higher than indicated since the report did not count vets who don’t use shelters.
Even with that limitation, it found that 16 per cent of female ex-soldiers reported multiple stints of homelessness, compared with just 6 per cent of non-veteran women.
The study also found the average age of homeless veterans was 52, compared with 37 in the general population. That figure may reflect the age of veterans who served in dangerous and devastating peacekeeping operations in the Balkans in the early 1990s, a period when the military barely acknowledged PTSD, never mind dealt with it.
In the end, Canada must take care of it soldiers and vets. The forces can start by ensuring enlisted soldiers get the mental health care they need without fear of losing their jobs. And Veterans Affairs must help those who are already out of the military – especially the homeless.

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2016/01/06/homeless-vets-need-support-editorial.html

Veterans housing administered thru the legion and subsidized by the government like they did after ww2. Only answer! Kent on it like peanut butter on toast, great things coming!

Find them an help them

http://www.lfpress.com/2016/01/05/at-least-2250-veterans-are-homeless-according-to-groundbreaking-analysis

OTTAWA -- For what's believed to be the first time, the federal government has estimated how many of Canada's homeless are former soldiers -- but the department that compiled the report warns the data is far from complete.

The March 2015 study by Employment and Social Development Canada estimates that 2,250 former soldiers use shelters on regular basis, about 2.7 per cent of the total homeless population that uses temporary lodging.

The information in the report, released to The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, comes from a database that tracks 60 emergency shelters across the country and added veterans as an identifiable category in 2014.

"It's shocking in Canada that we would have any veteran who is homeless, but it is a sad reality," Gen. Jonathan Vance, the country's top military commander, said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

The report noted that the data still has some holes in it and does not capture the number of veterans who do not use shelters. The national findings contradict counts being done in individual cities, which analysts suggest means that "veterans are more likely to be found outside shelters."

Researchers also found that veterans who end up homeless tend to be older than non-veterans in the same circumstances and that ex-soldiers are more prone to so-called episodic homelessness -- meaning they are individuals with disabling conditions who've been on and off the street three or more times in one year.

"Interestingly, there is a particularly high rate of episodic homelessness among female veterans," said the report, which noted that 16 per cent of female ex-soldiers reported multiple stints without a roof over their heads, compared with just six per cent of non-veteran women.

The average age of homeless veterans is 52, compared with 37 in the general population. Many ex-soldiers cite alcoholism, drug addiction and mental health issues as reasons for their circumstances.

Vance, who has made care of soldiers one of his signature initiatives, says catching people early is a priority that requires National Defence and Veterans Affairs Canada to focus on the point in time when a veteran is transitioning from life in the uniform to becoming a civilian.

The key is "if we can catch and find methods to ensure that people are seen to, and treated" before they reach a crisis stage, he said.

"I think there will be an effort to look at how to catch those people who fall through the cracks and get them into a proper environment for a total wellness approach."

Soldiers who are being released on medical grounds, particularly for post-traumatic stress disorder, are among the most vulnerable.

An independent report prepared last spring for Veterans Affairs found that there's "little evidence" the department is adequately dealing with -- or reacting quickly to -- the increasing number of soldiers being let go for medical reasons.

There was almost no sign of "measurable and dramatic improvements in service related outcomes related to transition," said a draft copy of the report, also released to CP under access to information.

Bureaucrats often didn't understand or co-ordinate with other departments to serve veterans, the report found. Further, it said there was not enough field staff to meet the growing demand for services.

"An outcome of the combination of fewer staff, lower efficiency gains and increased number of medically releasing members has been an increase in the case load per (veterans case manager)," the report said.

The former Conservative government boarded up nine regional veterans offices, saying they were being under-utilized -- a decision that sparked a public outcry, with the Liberals promising to re-open the offices.

THE CANADIAN PRESS

Tuesday, January 5, 2016 9:44:03 EST PM

Somedays you have a way with words also wild thing. It's good.
Screw political correctness. I believe an openminded understanding (or an attempt)
with respect goes miles further in our circles.
Boy, Is my memory ever fracked... I did contact VETS a year or more ago for a friend
dodging around. Talked with someone on the phone there that was a vet. Yep. but no support
in my neck of the woods for my friend. He suggested the local OSSIS. Meanwhile my friend
is probably? still dodging around. Keeping my eyes peeled.

That said, it is very easy to type away on the screens we are reading.
A little different to get "out there"

Here a link to VETS. Hell! its on the VVi mainpage.
http://vetscanada.org/

Merry Christmas? Oops!... sorry for the offense

I did see that piece on the news (CTV maybe). I also saw that there were some 'tag along/good PR opportunity' pers there. If I am not mistaken, CDS was there also. Quick to kick out ill/injured mil personell after two years with JPSU and then with LTD with SISIP/Insurance but then showing up as 'helping' the homless veterans. Ottawa at its best. Too bad Mr. Herr was not there.

It is all a gong show pinger like the pompas ass bull shit and money wasted to put on the throne speech. They said nothing, and it meant nothing, a bunch of wind bags wasting money but hey we had an advocate there who was so excited his lips locked on hehrs ass like a leach. Vets living on the streets that is why ELB should be automatic because some veterans cannot fight. Their not just living on the streets without a home their living on the streets without a Country. abandoned by a country they swore a oath to defend. Did the refugees swear an oath before they were allowed to come here hell most of them don't even wan't to come here but our government is down on their knees saying please come we will give you money and look after you. The damn cowards should be fighting for their own country against isis they won't do that because they want an islamic state that is why we should pull out let them fight their stupid religious war and live in the sixteenth century if they want, put sanctions on the whole middle east and look after our own because you cannot help religious fanatics and that is all that is over there. And common sense Canadians don't want them here sucking on the public purse and sending money back to syria or where ever to fund the war like the somolies did and still do with their welfare checks. SORRY IF I'M NOT POLITICALLY CORRECT...

Tx for reminding my very fouled up memory trooper. VETS.
Never dealt with them myself.
Anyway. I'll just approach.
wild thing... You never know, Hell I don't know!...the above could be a
"perfect example of veterans" helping each other out grassroots.

Can't be any worse than us holding our breathe for fracking deliverance
from the new GoC can it?

This is a perfect example of veterans that cannot fight for themselves for what ever reason. The sickning part is VA may provide "some help" "REALLY"...

At least 2,250 veterans are homeless, according to groundbreaking analysis

A group of volunteers made up of mostly former soldiers and RCMP officers are scouring Ottawa hoping to track down their former comrades who have fallen on hard times and now live on the streets.
The non-profit Veterans Emergency Transition Services was founded in Halifax five years ago to help out Canadian veterans who are in crisis, homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
On Saturday, volunteers from the group made their inaugural walk in Ottawa, armed with maps showing the locations of local homeless shelters and emergency supplies.

These are people that are usually independent, very capable young men and women, and it's very sad to see them in that state," said volunteer Steve Gribbon.
Veterans who are identified as homeless are immediately put up in a hotel, and then assigned a volunteer who will help provide them with support until they're back on their feet.
Gribbon said the organization acts “as an intermediary” with Canada’s Veterans Affairs department, and links the former service men and women with the help they need.
"Sometimes it’s things the department can help with, other times it is very simple things like storing some of their property," he said.
The group says that on average they track down 10 to 12 homeless veterans per walk.
While the exact number of homeless veterans in Canada is unknown, Jim Lowther, the group's founder, says they have helped more than 750 people get off the streets.
"It is a big issue and the more we are out there, the more we are finding," said Lowther, who is a former soldier.
And Lowther says the support provided through the program has lasting effects.
"We save lives," he said. "That's what we do -- we break the cycle of homelessness."

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/we-save-lives-ex-soldiers-help-track-down-support-homeless-veterans-1.2688479

VETS Canada is a volunteer-led apolitical nonprofit corporation that wants to help to ensure NO VETERAN goes without a place to lay there head at night and call it home. If you or someone you know are a VETERAN that is homeless or could become homeless than call our toll free number contact @ 1 888 228 3871 or visit our  website @ https://vetscanada.org/
or if you are Interested in helping us give a homeless or at risk veteran a hand up? We are always looking for help! VETS is currently expanding and looking for volunteers all across Canada. We needs support to established provincial chapters and in some provinces we are looking for volunteers to help us stand up new chapters.
You can also PM me if you have any questions. Thank You for taking the time to read my post.