Veterans struggling to find housing need more help from the government, says North Island-Powell River MP Rachel Blaney.
Veterans Affairs Canada this week announced who will receive money this year from the $6 million Veteran and Family Well-Being Fund. Only $500,000 is targeted nationally towards veterans who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness.
“Anything that will help veterans have a safe place to live, I think we have to support,” she says. “My concern is that we’re not seeing a national strategy that really impacts people across the whole country.”
Blaney, who serves as the NDP’s Veteran’s Affairs critic, says many vets struggling with housing try and go it alone, and a national strategy which engages their communities is needed to help them. She says out there are some individuals in her riding working to assist local vets, pointing to a program that has helped several vets keep their service dogs while accessing housing, but adds they need more support from the federal government.
She says there is also a growing need for programs that assist female veterans of the armed forces.
