(Ottawa) It was initially the age of the homeless veterans that Alan Mulawyshyn met. This Canadian Armed Forces retiree is deputy director of Veterans’ House Canada, an organization dedicated to housing these former service members in Ottawa.
Posted at 5:00 am.
“The average age of our tenants is 58 years old,” he notes. Some are even over 70 years old. “That surprised me because in theory they should be retired at that age and enjoying the time they have left,” he adds.
They previously lived on the street – or were about to end up there – before moving into a 40-apartment building dedicated exclusively to them, the first of its kind in the country. The Andy Carswell Building of Veterans’ House Canada, located on a former Royal Canadian Air Force base east of Ottawa, opened in 2021. In addition to affordable rent, residents have access to a social worker to help them apply for benefits from the Veterans’ House Canada Department of Veterans Affairs, psychological support and numerous group activities to create an army-like spirit of camaraderie. Some people try to treat an alcohol or drug addiction.
PHOTO SIMON SÉGUIN-BERTRAND, THE LAW
The Andy Carswell Building is located on a former Royal Canadian Air Force base east of Ottawa.
PHOTO SIMON SÉGUIN-BERTRAND, THE LAW
The Andy Carswell Building is located on a former Royal Canadian Air Force base east of Ottawa.
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“I could build a second building tomorrow and fill it,” Mr. Mulawyshyn says without hesitation. Six months ago there were eight people on the waiting list. Today there are more than 30. The housing crisis does not spare veterans either.
PHOTO SIMON SÉGUIN-BERTRAND, THE LAW
Alan Mulawyshyn, deputy director of Veterans’ House Canada
We get calls from everywhere. People have moved from British Columbia and Alberta to Ontario because we exist.
Alan Mulawyshyn, deputy director of Veterans’ House Canada
Having a permanent home gives these men and women a stability they have not experienced since leaving the armed forces. “You don’t worry about where you sleep at night, about someone stealing your stuff from a shelter, about the weather, knowing you have an address where Veterans Affairs can send you stuff, or about access to the Internet,” he tells Listen. All those little things we take for granted. »
How many are they?
The phenomenon of homelessness among former military personnel is difficult to quantify. Fewer than 2,000 of them reported being homeless to the Department of Veterans Affairs since 2014, according to data obtained through a Freedom of Information request. However, the number could be closer to 2,400 to 10,000, according to a recent report prepared by graduate students at McGill University for the Federal Housing Advocate.
“They are more independent, have less trust in institutions, so they sleep with friends, live in camps or in their cars,” explains Mr. Mulawyshyn. And you are two to three times more likely to become homeless.
Quebec’s 2022 homeless count found that more than 4% of people living on the streets have served in the Canadian Armed Forces, while veterans make up just 1.5% of the population. “And as the housing crisis grows across Canada, disproportionately more veterans will become homeless unless the federal government takes a more proactive, human rights-based approach,” warns the report, signed by Taylor Chase, Alison Clement, Sandrine Desforges and Anmol Gupta of McGill University .
“My job was a weapons technician”
PHOTO SIMON SÉGUIN-BERTRAND, THE LAW
Bill Beaton in his apartment. The man lived in homeless shelters for much of his life before he was able to obtain subsidized housing.
“Nobody knew I was a veteran. “I didn’t even know it myself,” exclaims Bill Beaton. The 67-year-old spent decades visiting homeless shelters after leaving the military in the 1980s. His military career lasted six years. Because he had not served overseas, he did not know that he was eligible for certain federal government services that could have helped him. Until he met the organization Soldiers in the Street, which put him in touch with the Veterans’ House. He welcomes us into his small, brand new studio, whose walls are lined with DVD boxes and psychedelic posters.
“It’s the first time I’ve decorated in ages,” he admits. And that makes me sad… But that means I plan on staying, right? »
According to his own statements, he never lived in one place for more than two years and was ready to move at any time because he had long struggled with opioid addiction. After leaving the armed forces, he moved between shabby apartments and homeless shelters, which somehow reminded him of military life, where everything is done at a fixed time and there is a strong group spirit.
PHOTO SIMON SÉGUIN-BERTRAND, THE LAW
Bill Beaton in his kitchen
Like many veterans who end up on the streets, the transition to civilian life was difficult.
I was only in ninth grade. My job was weapons technician, and there wasn’t much need for it outside of the military unless you joined the mafia or bikers. So I couldn’t do much with that.
Bill Beaton, veteran
Bill Beaton tried to reorient himself by taking sales training and moving between different jobs, but one day he found himself unemployed. He was also in prison for selling cannabis. After his release, it was just a step back to the street that had already welcomed him when he left his foster family at the age of 15. The price of the apartments was simply too high for his modest budget.
“Completely unacceptable”
“This is completely unacceptable,” condemned Conservative MP Blake Richards from Alberta. “The government does not adequately recognize veterans and what they have done for us,” he continued.
“When we ask people to serve our country, we must ensure that they receive that service,” said New Democrat Rep. Rachel Blaney.
It’s heartbreaking to see veterans struggle like this.
Rachel Blaney, NDP MP
A motion passed unanimously in 2019 set a goal of ending homelessness among former military personnel by 2025. It is a problem that could be “completely eliminated within a few years” if the federal government pursued a concerted strategy, according to a report submitted to the House of Commons by the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs.
In collaboration with William Leclerc, La Presse
How much does it cost ?
The first residential building intended exclusively for veterans cost 11.5 million. This is how it was funded:
- 6.5 million from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
- 3.5 million from fundraising
- 1.5 million from the Government of Ontario
The value of the land donated by Canada Lands Company is $2.5 million.
No roaming possible?
The city of London, Ontario managed to reduce the number of veterans to zero in 2021. She first identified them through a database and then referred them to the Department of Veterans Affairs so they can receive the benefits and services to which they are entitled. In the United States, access to housing is one of them thanks to changes in laws.
Women are overrepresented
Although they make up 16.2% of veterans, women who served in the armed forces make up 30% of homeless veterans. The Veterans’ House currently has 39 tenants, including 4 women.
Who is Andy Carswell?
Andy Carwsell, World War II bomber pilot, died in Toronto in 2021 at the age of 98. His plane was shot down in 1943 and he became a German prisoner of war. When he became a civil servant 35 years later, he wrote a report that led to the creation of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. His son is a major donor to Veterans’ House.
Learn more
461,240 Number of veterans in Canada in 2021
Source: Statistics Canada