They once fought for their country, now they fight just to survive.
That’s the message a non-profit group is taking to the streets across Canada Saturday, as they work to ensure the country’s veterans don’t find themselves homeless.
Veteran Emergency Transition Services (VETS) is conducting events in 17 cities across Canada, including Vancouver, in an effort to connect former soldiers who are homeless or distressed with much-needed services.
It’s the second time the organization has held its Coast to Coast Tour of Duty walk since VETS was founded in 2010.
Victoria also hosted a walk, along with Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa, among others.
The walks are intended to raise awareness about the problem and to locate homeless vets on the streets and in shelters who are in need of help.
VETS Volunteer Wolf Schmitz served as a peacekeeper in Cyprus, and says he wishes the team didn’t need to reach out in neighbourhoods like the Downtown Eastside.
“I hope we don’t meet anybody to tell you the truth,” he said. “That would be a perfect case scenario, but unfortunately, we probably will. And if we do, then we can get the wheels in motion.”
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VETS manager John McKenzie says young veterans have it the worst because they’ve always had some sort of support system.
“They’re so institutionalized that they don’t know how to take care of themselves when they get out of the army,” he said. “The army does everything for you, tells you where to live, where to eat, gives you some money to spend. But you can become so institutionalized that you don’t know how to take care of yourself.”
The team says there are about 200 veterans in the Lower Mainland who are in need of some sort of housing.
Last year, a report from Human Resources and Development Canada found there were as many as 2,250 Canadian Forces veterans living on the streets and homeless shelters across the country.