Calgarians walk in support of veterans to raise awareness for mental health and economic challenges
Active and retired Calgary members of the armed forces gathered alongside their families and friends at South Glenmore Park Saturday morning for the fifth annual Canadian Walk for Veterans.
The five-kilometre walk aims to raise awareness of the plight of Canadian veterans, first responders, and foreign nationals who have supported Canadian troops in conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Bosnia, Rwanda, and other peacekeeping missions.
"The whole purpose is to support these veterans and when somebody says something can’t be done, these men and women don’t take no for an answer and they look after each other," said Murray Marshall.
The proud father walked Saturday in honour of his son, Sapper Steven Marshall of Calgary, who died at the age of 24 on October 30, 2009 while on foot patrol in the Panjwal district in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
The proud father walked Saturday in honour of his son, Sapper Steven Marshall of Calgary, who died at the age of 24 on October 30, 2009 while on foot patrol in the Panjwal district in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
"One of the biggest issues these veterans have is that when they come home, they’re expected to just turn it off, all the horror they’ve seen," added Marshall.
"So when these veterans came home and found out that there was little support for them, they created their own and there’s no not getting it done."
More than 80 people participated in Calgary’s event which is one of 11 walks being held across Canada with hundreds more supporting the initiative for veterans donating pledges online.
Net proceeds also go to the True Patriot Love Afghan Resettlement Campaign to help Afghan refugees and their families adapt to life in Canada with support for legal costs, housing, language, mental health, education and employment training.
EMPLOYMENT
Employment is of major importance according to Andrea Chant with the Order of St. George.
She says her team’s mission is to better the health and well-being of members of the Canadian Armed Forces, Veterans and their families, and supports the Canadian Cadet and Junior Ranger Programs.
"A lot of our veterans come back from conflicts with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and, and other ailments so this walk is also to support that too," said Chant.
Veterans like Dean Compton for example still suffer from PTSD.
The former corporal with the First Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry served in both Cyprus and Croatia before retiring in 1996, but the psychological wounds of conflict remain.
"Many veterans committed suicide because of not getting the help they need so things like the physical disabilities are easier to take care of, because it's something that can be fixed or amended," he said.
"But mental health issues and PTSD along with other challenges we’ve been through is still difficult and many of the guys that went to Afghanistan and in my generation still suffer."
The organizer of this year’s walk in Calgary was Gene Kushnir who currently serves as the commanding officer of 604 Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron and serves as Honourary Military Aide de Camp to the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.
He says veterans served much of their life to fight for the freedom of millions of Canadians, yet many of them are unable to make ends meet upon returning to civilian jobs.
"We have a lot of veterans that leave the military and unfortunately some of them are found to be homeless or they're in need in some way or another."
"Hopefully in the next years to come we can just keep growing and growing and getting bigger and bigger by raising more funds for all veterans’ organizations."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.