Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Mr. Lowther is a Canadian Armed Forces Veteran who served on operational tours in Bosnia and during Operation Apollo. In 2011, he founded Veteran Emergency Transition Services (VETS Canada) to assist homeless fellow Veterans who had not made successful transitions from their military careers to healthy civilian lives. The movement was initially responsible for aiding 30 at-risk or homeless Veterans in Halifax and throughout Nova Scotia, and is now a national charity. Through Mr. Lowther’s tireless dedication, passion and effective leadership as National President, VETS Canada has heightened awareness of this issue among Canadians. As a result, the number of volunteers has increased to the point that the organization has rapidly grown its inter-provincial network, assisting more than 300 homeless Veterans across Canada. Mr. Lowther is an articulate and impassioned public speaker concerning the positive outcomes that his initiative has in dealing with this issue. He has also attracted the support of Canadian businesses to assist in the development of a smart phone application used by volunteers in providing information on homeless Veterans to VETS Canada.