SaskatchewanOttawa is spending $22.5 million on 10 different Canadian projects, including one in Saskatchewan, that offer addiction treatment, rental support and therapy aimed at preventing veteran homelessness.Saskatchewan gets $800K over four yearsListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Veterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight meets with members of the Royal Canadian Legion Saskatchewan command. (Kirk Fraser/CBC)The federal government will spend $22.5 million on 10 different Canadian projects, including one in Saskatchewan, that offer addiction treatment, rental support and therapy to veterans, aiming to prevent them from becoming homelessness.The Royal Canadian Legion Saskatchewan Command, based in Regina, received about $800,000 of that money, dispersed over a four-year-period, said to Paul Valiquette, the legion’s provincial services officer and veterans homelessness program coordinator. “As a veteran we don’t want to reach out. We’re always taught to serve everybody else before yourself. No, you’ve got to help yourself first to be able to help everyone else,” Valiquette said after a news conference at the Royal Canadian Legion’s Regina branch.Valiquette said the Saskatchewan command got the first tranche of money, about $197,000, in July 2024 and has used it to help pay for rented apartments, groceries and trauma counselling for veterans who would have been homeless without the help.“We can help for interview techniques for gainful employment. There’s a lot we can do,” he said.The federal government estimates about 1,800 veterans are currently homeless.Before Ottawa announced the money, Valiquette said the legion relied on funds it collected during its yearly poppy campaign to help veterans.He said the Saskatchewan command has helped 37 veterans with the government money, and in one case helped a man recently released from jail find, pay for and stock an apartment.“To see [him] going from nothing, being in a shelter to having his own apartment being fully stocked as best as you can … the veteran now is saying, ‘I can’t believe it’s taken so long to get to this point.’”Money part of a bigger programVeterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight said the $22.5 million was part of Ottawa’s veteran homelessness program, which was announced in 2023 to help veterans at imminent risk of homelessness.The programs help veterans pay rent, access mental health and addictions treatment and get job counselling.In total, the government is expected to spend $80 million on 34 projects.McKnight said some veterans at risk of homelessness suffer from PTSD, while others deal with addiction.“Each veteran has their own unique experience and story,” she said.“Through programs like this, with the wraparound supports, we’ve been able to see them find permanent, stable housing and address some of those challenges as well.”ABOUT THE AUTHORColleen Silverthorn is a journalist for CBC in Regina. Colleen comes from the newspaper world, where she primarily covered politics and business. She has worked in Saskatoon, Regina and London, England. Story ideas? Email colleen.silverthorn@cbc.ca
Ottawa announces $22.5 million for projects aimed at preventing veteran homelessness
