Final report summary: Respect Campaign

Overview:

The Respect Campaign, based in Montreal, QC, used funding from the Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund for its Respect Forum, a national networking initiative designed to promote collaborative approaches to service delivery for Veterans, first responders, and their families.

Project goals:

The main goals for this project consisted of the following items:

• Expand Respect Forum meetings from 19 to upwards of 30 locations across Canada;
• Extend Respect Forum’s outreach to Indigenous Veterans and First Responders and their families through collaboration with Indigenous groups and communities;
• Promote knowledge mobilization between research and medical communities and practitioner and stakeholder communities; and,
• Build Respect Forum governance, administration and sustainability.

Project activities:

To achieve these goals, Respect Forum:

• Recruited, trained, and integrated regional coordinators and local facilitators for each meeting location;
• Developed and launched RESPECTMap – a web-based directory of organizations to support local, provincial, and national collaborative work;
• Collaborated with Indigenous groups and communities regarding Indigenous Veterans, First Responders, and their families facing post-traumatic stress, homelessness, and related problems and established a collaborative process to improve services for these populations;
• Conducted outreach activities with the Canadian medical community (e.g., Canadian Medical Association) and medical schools (guided by advice from medical community) with a focus on services for women; and,
• Completed implementation of Respect Forum Governance Model, including a Governance Committee that meets biannually.

Project results:

To support their mission of network building and knowledge sharing among organizations that provide services to military Veterans, emergency response personnel and their families, Respect Campaign:

1) expanded their presence to 24 locations across Canada;

2) published a mappings of services to personnel in uniform (RESPECTMap);

3) established a strong network within Indigenous communities through the creation of the Respect Canada Indigenous Veterans and First Responders Advisory Circle;

4) created stronger links between research and practice; and

5) adopted a sustainable governance model.