Delta, British Columbia
Mr. Brian McKenna is a Veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces. He has participated in many programs offered to Veterans and has developed a keen understanding of some of the issues Veterans experience in accessing these programs. Due to his expertise, Mr. McKenna was asked to take part in an advisory group for Veterans Affairs Canada to help guide and improve Canada’s policy on Veterans. Mr. McKenna also served as a volunteer paraprofessional with the Veterans Transition Network. In this work, he has been an advocate of the program, has assisted Veterans with the necessary paper work to help them enroll, and has provided mentorship for new paraprofessionals. Mr. McKenna also helped establish a social support group for Veterans in need called the Veterans Assistance Group. This group has regular meetings and is able to immediately respond in case of a crisis. While representing the Veterans Assistance Group, Mr. McKenna has met with local hospital mental health authorities and health care workers to provide advice on streamlining the process for Veterans. Mr. McKenna, who has a service dog of his own, also volunteers his time to assist Veterans with new dogs, educate Veterans on the service dog program, and guide dog trainers on the needs of Veterans. As the British Colombia representative of the Veterans Well-being Network, Mr. McKenna presents Veterans’ concerns to stakeholders. Mr. McKenna also helped run a crisis phone line for Veterans for the past few years and remains active with the Royal Westminster Regiment Association.