A local non-profit organization is stepping up to help veterans in need.
Phil Tweedie, a volunteer with Veterans Emergency Transition Services (VETS) Canada, talked to members attending Sunday's Army Navy Air Force Veterans in Canada (ANAVETS) Unit 400 club meeting.
He also picked up a $30,000 cheque given by the club to VETS Canada.
“What we try to do is provide the emergency aspect,” said Tweedie. “We try to come in contact with the veterans, either through walks in the street or with the help of other social agencies in town.”
Veterans or those who come in contact with a veteran in need can inform VETS Canada by calling 1-888-228-3871.
“The assistance we provide is in terms of emergency shelters, transportation, finances, food coupons, etc.,” said Tweedie.
He said the organization deals with veterans, both male and female, veterans from recent times, in terms of service and, by extension, with their families.
Last year, Tweedie said, VETS Canada had about 2,000 calls for assistance across Canada; the organization was able to help 625 of those callers.
The grassroots non-profit started in Nova Scotia in 2010 with the help of veteran Jim Lowther. He realized some of his fellow servicemen and women were suffering and were struggling to make successful transitions from military careers to healthy, productive civilian lives.
Tweedie, a veteran, said even though the organization now has 500 volunteers across the country, it’s difficult to find vets who need the help.
“To be honest, one of the major problems is identifying a vet,” he said, adding the non-profit’s volunteers, veterans or serving officers, are key to establishing a safe connection. “I find there’s a perception in the minds of the public that he/she is of a generation before us. We have a number of soldiers who have served through Afghanistan and have retired.”
Because it is difficult to identify veterans in an area, Tweedie said he did not know how many are in Orillia and area, let alone how many need assistance.
“We need to tell people this is out there,” he said. “If you know of a veteran that needs assistance or someone in the social services knows, they can connect to us.”
A major problem veterans deal with is that of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“One of the problems with PTSD is remission,” said Tweedie. “Every so often a trigger can set a veteran back.”
There’s ongoing discussion about what the government can and can’t do, he said. But it’s not just a question of providing vets with money; it’s about providing them the opportunity to access services.
“I’m a believer that having served the government of Canada, I fulfilled my contract, called one of unlimited liability,” he said, explaining it means in his service he was prepared to lay down his life for his country.
“I believe the government of Canada must fulfill the second part of the contract,” said Tweedie. “And that is, I served and if I am damaged in any way, physically or mentally, then the government does everything it can to assist us.”
Reta Keeler, veteran liaison with ANAF Unit 400, said her nephew in Toronto told her about the work being done by VETS Canada.
“We have a fund for services for veterans, and it was voted by the members that we would give them a cheque this time,” said Keeler, adding the money was raised over the year through monthly donations, fundraisers, potluck dinners and different activities organized by the local group.
The club, she said, hopes by assisting VETS Canada this information can be shared in the community.
For more information on VETS Canada, visit vetscanada.org or call 1-888-228-3871.
