Volunteers hit the streets to help homeless veterans in Halifax

More than a dozen volunteers took to the streets of downtown Halifax on Saturday afternoon for the Boots on the Ground walk.

The event is put on by Vets Canada, an organization which has helped to assist hundreds of homeless or in-crisis veterans since it first started in Halifax in 2010.

Jim Lowther, CEO of Vets Canada, believes no one who has served our country should ever be without a home and says the walk is a change to bring awareness to the number of vets who are homeless.

MORE: Everyday Heroes: Jim Lowther and Roland Lawless

The walk is also an opportunity to bring together those who work around the clock to help homeless veterans. From coast-to-coast, Vets Canada now has 500 dedicated volunteers.

“Its just grown beyond what I ever thought because I didn’t really set out to have my own charity. We just set out to help a couple vets in need. Now we’re pushing 1,000 almost you know, it’s crazy,” said Jim Lowther.

Vets Canada says more than 2,200 former soldiers use shelters across the country on a regular basis. Lowther says now is the time to take action and get them off the streets.

Debbie Lowther, Jim’s wife and partner at Vets Canada, says working to help get veterans off the streets is a rewarding experience.

“My husband Jim, has PTSD and he could easily have gone down that road where he could have ended up on the streets very easily if he didn’t get the help he needed for his PTSD,” said Debbie Lowther. “He could have easily ended up in a bad situation.”