In this edition:
- News
- Design revealed for the National Monument to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan
- New programs supported by Veterans and Family Well-being Fund
- Programs and services
- Expanding support services for people who have experienced military sexual misconduct
- Torchlight: a new resource for parents and caregivers
- Advocate says Veterans must take care of themselves, as well as others
- My VAC Account has a new look and improved features
- Veterans’ stories
- Alfred Boivin: Climb every mountain
- Commemoration
- “Whitey” Bernard: One photograph led to a lifetime of memory
- Canada’s peacekeeping efforts in the Balkans
- “The forgotten war”—70 years later
- Commemoration calendar
News
Design revealed for the National Monument to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan
We’re pleased to announce the selected for the National Monument to Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan has marked an important step in preserving and honouring the legacy of those who served in the conflict with a selected design.To be installed across the street from the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, the monument will honour the more than 40,000 courageous Canadians who served in Afghanistan, and recognize the support provided to them at home by their families, peers and communities
While in Afghanistan, 158 Canadian Armed Forces members, a diplomat, four aid workers, a government contractor and a journalist lost their lives. Thousands of Canadian Armed Forces members and civilians were also injured—physically and psychologically.
Nothing could ever repay that debt.
See additional information on the monument.
Canada remembers.
Veteran mental health services among new projects supported by Veterans and Family Well-being Fund
New Veteran mental health services are among the new projects to be funded by the Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund.
Trilogy Wellness Centre (formerly Beacon House) met with Minister Lawrence MacAulay last month to discuss their Veterans and Family Well-being Fund project. On May 24, Minister MacAulay announced that 21 projects from across the country have been approved, totaling $6 million in spending over three years.
Trilogy Wellness Centre will receive $500,000 for their project, which will provide walk-in urgent mental health services for Veterans and their families in Prince Edward Island, and will serve as an outreach centre for transition support, education and referral programs.
The Veteran and Family Well-being Fund provides grants and contributions to conduct research and implement initiatives and projects that support the well-being of Veterans and their families. Between 2018 and 2023, the Veteran and Family Well-being Fund has awarded $42.6 million in funding to 77 organizations, for 123 initiatives.
We will feature stories about these organizations and the work they do in the months ahead. In the meantime, you can learn more about them by consulting the full list of recipients.
Programs and services
Expanding support services for people who have experienced military sexual misconduct
The Sexual Misconduct Support and Resource Centre (SMSRC) is enhancing the services offered to the wider Defence and Veteran community affected by sexual misconduct.
Here are some updates:
- New SMSRC funding for 30 Canadian, community-based service providers has made 32 innovative projects possible in services, research and outreach.
- Services offered by the SMSRC have been expanded to include Cadets, Junior Canadian Rangers and their family members aged 16 and older.
- The SMSRC and VAC are collaborating in the development of a military sexual trauma peer support program.
- The SMSRC launched the first phase of its Independent Legal Assistance (ILA) Program. It reimburses eligible legal expenses incurred on or after 1 April 2019 by people who experienced any incidents of sexual misconduct in the military.
New consultation group
The SMSRC launched a national call-out for current and former CAF members and DND public service employees, families and supporters of those affected by sexual misconduct to join a new consultation group.
Members will provide advice, expertise, and recommendations for programs, services and initiatives.
SMSRC counsellors can provide confidential support and information on resources at 1-844-750-1648, 24/7, or by email at DND.SMSRC-CSRIS.MDN@forces.gc.ca.
For more information, you can visit the SMSRC’s website.
Torchlight: a new resource for parents and caregivers
Torchlight Parenting & Caregiving is a caregiver support program. This resource helps with day-to-day concerns for anyone who gives care, as a parent or guardian, or to an older adult. It’s available through your VAC Assistance Service, in addition to the LifeSpeak digital library.
Torchlight has expert guidance, tools, and actionable steps to help you solve day-to-day and more complex issues associated with parenting and caregiving. You can access guides, self-assessments and other personalized resources.
Go to veterans.torchlight.care and create an account on the Caregiving for Children or Caregiving for Seniors portal. Log into LifeSpeak from any computer or mobile device using the Access ID: canada.
Support is available
If you need psychological support, contact the VAC Assistance Service at 1-800-268-7708, or use the chat service. Select “I am an employee or current or former RCMP / CAF member”; in the organization field, choose “Veterans Affairs Canada—former RCMP and CAF members,” and enter password: canada).
For persons who are deaf or hard of hearing: TTY 1-800-567-5803.
The VAC Assistance Service is available by telephone 24 hours a day / 365 days a year anywhere in Canada.
Advocate says Veterans must take care of themselves, as well as others
Brian McKenna advises Veterans to consider their own health when helping others. In his latest blog post, he asks, “Are you healthy enough to help?”
McKenna now represents Veterans as the National Strategic Advisor at the Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families. As a non-commissioned officer, he helped soldiers daily. But he had yet to understand his own post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
He says his drive to help others led to burnout—taking on too much and focusing on the helper role that was central to his identity.
In the beginning, McKenna says he was “more akin to someone teaching swimming lessons while struggling to learn how to float themselves.”
In time, he says he learned about his limits and now he can help others without compromising his own well-being.
If you are struggling to find balance or cope with PTSD, there are resources available. The Atlas Institute has a fact sheet with proven coping strategies.
If you are interested, you can participate in a study endorsed by the Atlas Institute, about exploring how meditation-based treatments can improve Veterans’ PTSD symptoms.
My VAC Account has a new look and improved features
My VAC Account is now even simpler to use. For the past year, we’ve been testing a trial version of My VAC Account. During this trial period we’ve been making improvements based on feedback received from you. A main focus was on accessibility because we want to ensure that My VAC Account is easy to use for everyone.
We invite you to try it for yourself. Whether you are applying for a benefit, updating your information or reaching out to us, you can do it quickly and easily with My VAC Account.
We will continue to make improvements to My VAC Account based on feedback we receive. We’d love to hear what you think and suggestions you have.
Veteran’s story: Alfred Boivin
Climb every mountain
Alfred Boivin believes that effort, perseverance and discipline bring results. Following his release from service, he discovered bicycle touring, mountain biking, canoe expeditions and road bike racing.
He’s living proof that knowledge, perseverance and discipline, applied over months, make it possible to achieve your goals.
Do you have a story to share about experience in the Canadian Armed Forces? Tell us about it by email.
Commemoration
One photograph led to a lifetime of memories
A photograph captured more than 80 years ago on a British Columbian street, has given Warren (Whitey) Bernard a lifetime of notoriety. Recently, after a church service in Tofino, B.C. two women asked for Warren Bernard’s picture and autograph when they learned the 88-year-old was once the little blonde boy reaching for his father’s hand in the iconic “Wait for Me, Daddy” image.
“They chased me out of the church,” Bernard said with a laugh. “They wanted to know the same thing almost everyone asks about the picture: if my Dad came home.”
Canada’s peacekeeping efforts in the Balkans
In 1991, violence erupted in the Balkans region of southeast Europe when the communist nation of Yugoslavia broke apart. In response, Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members were soon deployed to try to help restore peace and security to the people there.
Throughout the years that followed, the CAF contributed to a number of peace support missions in the Balkans, including the United Nations Protection Force that began in early 1992.
The last large CAF contingent left the region in the mid-2000s, with a smaller Canadian peacekeeping presence continuing there to this day.
Tens of thousands of CAF members have taken part in peacekeeping efforts in the Balkans over the years. Join us in honouring the brave Canadians who have served—and continue to serve—in the region.
Learn more about the role of the CAF in the Balkans on the Veterans Affairs Canada’s Remembrance website.
“The forgotten war”—70 years later
70 years ago, the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed in Panmunjom after a very long negotiation process. Long seen as a forgotten war, the Korean War is the third-deadliest overseas conflict and an important chapter in Canada's military history.
Later this month, for the anniversary of the armistice, a group of Korean War Veterans will return to Korea along with a Canadian delegation led by Minister of Veterans Affairs Lawrence MacAulay. There, they will participate in ceremonies and events honouring those who served in the Korean War, alongside Veterans from other countries as part of the Revisit Korea program run by the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. Learn more about the commemoration of the Korean Armistice Agreement, and follow along on our social media channels.
In case you missed it, to commemorate the beginning of the Korean War, we hosted a group of Korean War Veterans in Ottawa from June 23 to 25. Check out the photos below!
Commemoration calendar
- July 1:
- The Battle of the Somme began in France, 1916
- July 7:
- Canada’s combat mission in Afghanistan ended, 2011
- July 8:
- 100th anniversary of the dedication of the St. Julien Canadian Memorial, 1923
- July 9-10:
- Caen liberated during the Battle of Normandy, 1944
- July 10:
- 80th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Sicily, 1943
- July 17:
- Operation Athena began in Afghanistan, 2003
- July 27:
- 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, 1953
- August: 2
- Gulf War began in the Middle East, 1990
- August: 4
- Canada entered the First World War, 1914
- August: 8
- 105th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Amiens, 1918
- August: 9
- National Peacekeepers’ Day
- August: 13
- Canadian Women’s Army Corps established, 1941
- August: 15
- Victory over Japan (V-J) Day, 1945
- August: 19
- Canadians took part in the Dieppe Raid, 1942
- August: 21
- The Falaise Gap was closed during Battle of Normandy, 1944
- August: 24
- Stretch of Highway 401 in Ontario was officially designated the Highway of Heroes, 2007
Do you know other Veterans, family members or others who would benefit from the information in this newsletter? Feel free to share it with them.