Skip to content

National veterans walk coming to Barrie

The annual Coast to Coast Tour of Duty aims to raise awareness of veteran homelessness
walking shutterstock
Stock image

NEWS RELEASE
VETS CANADA
*************************
Veterans Emergency Transition Services Canada (VETS Canada) is hosting its third annual Coast to Coast Tour of Duty in communities across Canada on Saturday, June 9 at 1 p.m. local time.

The Tour of Duty is a national walk with a dual purpose; to encourage countrywide awareness and dialogue regarding veteran homelessness/veteran homelessness prevention, and to locate veterans in need from coast to coast.

Walks will be led by teams of VETS Canada volunteers in 21 cities across Canada including: Barrie, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, Cambridge, Windsor, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Kelowna, Vancouver, Victoria and Whitehorse.

The public is encouraged to join in our efforts by participating in a local walk. Please RSVP by emailing [email protected].

“Last year’s event allowed us to identify 17 homeless and/or in-crisis Veterans, and we received many more referrals for emergency assistance after the fact, due to the event’s publicity," says Jim Lowther, VETS Canada co-founder / CEO and president.

He adds: "One of the things that sets VETS Canada apart from other Veteran initiatives is that we don’t wait for those in crisis to come to us; our volunteers literally hit the streets boots on the ground in their local communities in search of Veterans who need our help. The Tour of Duty is just that, but on a national scale.”

About VETS Canada

VETS Canada, a national charity and service provider of Veterans Affairs Canada, is the largest 24/7 Canadian organization dedicated to addressing the emergency needs of homeless and in-crisis veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP.

Our hundreds of dedicated volunteers (primarily veterans or still-serving military members) have relied on a unique model of peer support to provide life-saving aid in response to thousands of requests for assistance since 2010. It is our firm belief that no veteran who served to protect our homes should ever be without one. Learn more here.

*************************