VETS Canada: In Her Boots campaign aimed to help increasing number of homeless female veterans

Veterans Emergency Transition Services Canada (VETS Canada) will be hosting VETS Canada: In Her Boots, a national awareness event, in honour of International Women’s Day.

On March 4, volunteer teams across the country will be visiting women’s and family shelters and taking to the streets to find homeless female veterans. The aim of the event is to provide comfort items to women and families in need while bringing attention to female and family veteran homelessness.

“When we envision veterans, many of us think of men,” says Debbie Lowther, Co-Founder of VETS Canada. “In reality, women make up a significant percentage of the veteran population, and an increasing number of the veterans we help are female.”

In 2015, five per cent of in-crisis veterans supported by VETS Canada were female; in 2016, that number jumped to 16 per cent.

Many of these female veterans were single mothers struggling to make ends meet.

“We as a country need to recognize that female veteran homelessness is a significant issue, and that each and every one of us can play a role in helping homeless female and male veterans alike,” added Lowther.

Supporting veteran families and preventing homelessness is a key component of VETS Canada. Since 2010, the organization has helped more than 1,400 veterans at risk of homelessness or living in homelessness.

VETS Canada carries out its work by moving veterans from the streets and shelters into affordable housing, locating food support and health care services and helping veterans to find work.

To learn more about VETS Canada or to volunteer and be a part of In Her Boots visit the organization’s website