VETS Canada to receive $40K to help homeless veterans

A Halifax-based group that supports homeless veterans has received $40,000 from a national organization as it expands across the country.

VETS Canada, a volunteer-run organization, received the donation from Wounded Warriors, a non-profit that helps Canadian Forces members who have been injured during service. The $40,000 donation represents about half of VETS Canada's annual budget.

Barry Yhard, the national executive director of VETS Canada, said this will allow the group to reach many more people.

"It can be anything from assisting with a tank of oil to get someone through the winter, to putting someone into emergency housing," he said.

VETS Canada says it has helped about 175 people since starting up three and a half years ago in Dartmouth. They deal with about 10 to 20 people a day.

Philip Ralph, the national program director of Wounded Warriors, said the end of the Afghan mission will mean a lot more clients for these groups. He said he still sees people coming forward for help from conflicts that ended a decade ago. 

In the case of Afghanistan, Ralph said soldiers tried to transition back to civilian life too quickly without a support system.

"Now the symptoms are going to come forward and manifest themselves over the next decade," he said.