Working Together in Montréal to Improve Veterans’ Well-Being: A Canadian Perspective

Abstract

Services for veterans in Canada can be unclear and difficult to navigate for civilian service providers working with veterans. In this article, we feature two Montréal-based initiatives that aim to improve services for veterans through collaboration, the Old Brewery Mission and Respect Forum. We begin by providing background information about Canada’s recent history of military engagements and veterans affairs issues. The first example of collaboration presented is the Sentinelles de la rue (Sentinels of the Street) program, led by the Old Brewery Mission. The Mission works with Montréal’s homeless men and women, meeting their essential needs while finding practical and sustainable solutions to end chronic homelessness. The Mission is now developing a collaborative model in partnership with government departments, veterans peer support organizations, and local health and social services to house and support homeless military veterans. The second example is Respect Forum, a not-for-profit initiative that has been organizing networking events in Montréal, Québec since 2016. The aim of these events is to promote military–civilian and multisectoral collaboration to improve services for veterans. Respect Forum meetings have made it possible to begin bringing together and mapping out local and national service providers working with veterans.

Foreword to the Second Volume of the Special Issue on Veteran Community Engagement

“…The second volume of this Special Issue expresses a wide range of veteran community engagement and collaboration strategies, including (a) an article on veteran microdosing and psychedelic self-medication (Hooyer et al, 2020); (b) a historical view of the impact of education exchange between U.S. and South Korean military nurses (Jun et al, 2019); (c) strategies for engaging veterans in research of a theater-based intervention for PTSD (Ali et al, 2019); (d) interprofessional approaches to addressing veteran identity considerations through collaborations between chaplain service and psychologists in a Veterans Affairs Healthcare system (Antal et al, 2019); (e) an international perspective exploring a community collaborative with veterans in Montre΄al, Canada (Fewster et al, 2019); (f) efforts to build long-term and sustainable models for veteran engagement in health services research (Wendleton et al, 2019); (g) community-engaged strategies to address veteran homelessness within broader housing stability efforts (Nelson et al, 2019); and (h) examining the role of veteran peer mentorship programs in alcohol recovery (Hall et al, 2020).…”

Veterans Health and Well-Being—Collaborative Research Approaches: Toward Veteran Community Engagement

“…The Special Issue expresses a wide range of veteran community engagement and collaboration strategies. These areas include (1) arts-based efforts using theater as a treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (Ali et al, 2019); (2) engaging with military veteran college students in higher education settings (Dobson et al, 2019; Kent & Buechner, 2019); (3) addressing changes in veteran identity in the aftermath of moral injury and integrations between the chaplaincy and psychology (Antal, et al, 2019); (4) activating multisector coalitions in the United States and Canada for collective impact on veterans issues at the community level (Fewster et al, 2019; this foreword); (5) veteran volunteering as a reintegration strategy in civilian life (Matthieu et al, 2019); (6) examining the experiences of military nurses during and after the Korean War as a reflection on country building and the formalization of nursing as profession in both Korea and the United States (Jun et al, 2019); (7) veteran collaboratively designed mindfulness classes in the VA setting (Uebel); (8) engaging veterans in advisory roles with VA health services research (Wendleton et al, 2019); (9) using photovoice as a strategy to increase trust and communication between veterans larger institutions (True et al, 2019); (10) collaborative research on veteran homelessness issues (Nelson et al, 2019); (11) exploring the lived experiences of recent military veterans using psychedelics as a strategy for self-medication (Hooyer, 2020); (12) and engaged strategies for ecological momentary assessment research of alcohol use among veterans in a community based peer support program (Hall et al, 2019); (13) faith-based coalitions to support veteran reintegration hubs (Bennet, et al); and (14) collaborative design of veteran peer support training curricula (Ruffalo, et al, (in press)).…”

“We Got an Invite into the Fortress”: VA-Community Partnerships for Meeting Veterans’ Healthcare Needs

“…In the UK, for example, one initiative by the Armed Forces Veterans (AFV) involves integrating veterans into the national health services (NHS) [3], while other smaller initiatives and community-centered responses focus on improving veterans' healthcare access as well as services to and relations with veterans [4][5][6]. Similarly, studies in Canada clarify the role of community organizations in assisting military families access civilian healthcare [7] and helping homeless veterans access healthcare and improve services for veterans [8].…”