There are at least 2,400 homeless former soldiers, sailors and air crew in Canada, with the actual number likely higher, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. An emergency fund to provide impoverished veterans with winter parkas, food and shelter went over budget last year, says Blacklock's Reporter..“How many homeless veterans are there? Accurately measuring the number of veterans experiencing homelessness is challenging,” said a December 2 briefing note Veteran Homelessness. “Homelessness is a complex issue,” it added..The department cited a 2016 National Shelter Study that asked mission residents if they had a military record. “An estimated 2,400 individuals reported having served in the military,” wrote staff..Subsequent surveys suggested the proportion of homeless veterans had since doubled though figures were incomplete, said the briefing note. “COVID-19 delayed additional counts but they resumed in 2021,” it said. “New data are not yet available.”.A companion note Veterans Emergency Fund said the million-dollar program again went over budget in 2022. The Fund pays a one-time, tax-free grant up to $2,500 for the poorest veterans “facing an emergency that threatens their health and well-being” including lack of food, shelter and winter clothing..“Every year since the program started in 2018, the demand for the Veterans Emergency Fund has been more than the $1 million in annual funding,” said the note. Costs in 2021 were $1,060,000..A 2021 audit of the program quoted one Department of Veterans Affairs employee as saying grants saved ex-military members from freezing to death in the winter..“I can use the Veterans Emergency Fund to provide a veteran a hotel room on a night when it is -40 and all the shelters are full,” the staffer was quoted in the Evaluation Of The Veterans Emergency Fund. “I could literally save their life. But the next day the shelters are full and there are no affordable housing options.”.Auditors said the program was heavily oversubscribed. Of 2,576 appeals for funding over two years a total 1,902 were approved. Most payments were issued within two days “for necessities such as food, clothing, shelter, medical care or expenses not otherwise covered,” said the report..Most veterans who applied for emergency aid were unmarried men under 50. A review of case files found 59% were homeless or had “underlying addiction or mental health issues.”.“There’s this notion that we’re going to get everybody off the street,” General (Ret’d) Walter Natynczyk, then-deputy minister, testified Feb. 17, 2020 at the Commons veterans affairs committee. “Some veterans aren’t ready. Some veterans don’t want to be connected to their families yet.”.“A lot of veterans don’t want to be in the snow in the winter,” said Natynczyk. “They don’t want to be in Manitoba. I’m a Winnipegger. They migrate to Vancouver Island and camp out in the bush. We’re looking for them with the Royal Canadian Legion and Vets Canada so that when they’re ready, they can come in.”
