VETS Canada held a Boots on the Ground walk through the streets of Halifax on Saturday.
Since 2010, the organization has helped over 1,400 veterans who were in crisis, at risk of homelessness or experiencing homelessness. Volunteers were out in full force trying to locate any homeless veterans they could find and provide resources to them.
“There are people who served this country, who, for one reason or another, are out on the streets or in crisis of being on the streets and we want to bring some awareness to that issue, that veterans aren’t necessarily getting all the help they could be getting and we want to make sure we’re doing the best we can for them,” Shawn Hambley, field operations manager for VETS Canada, said.
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The walk also officially kicked off Veterans’ Week in Canada for many.
“Veterans’ Week is about honouring the sacrifices of those who have served, and preserving their legacy of hope,” Jim Lowther, VETS Canada president and CEO, said in a news release.
READ MORE: Volunteers hit the streets to help homeless veterans
“This is what we do at VETS Canada each and every day, and it’s also why we want to begin Veterans’ Week with Boots on the Ground walks,” Lowther said. “At VETS Canada, we feel it is our duty to locate and help these veterans who have fallen through the cracks to get off the streets – not just during Veterans’ Week, but each and every week and day of the year.
“It’s simple – no individual who has served our country should be without a safe place to call home.”
Similar Boots on the Ground walks also took place in Calgary and Ottawa this weekend.
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