Two local musicians launch new fundraising CD
WALKERTON – Tom Traversy and Pat McNinch are men on a mission – to make sure Canada’s heroes – the men and women who have served in this country’s military – receive the treatment they deserve when they transition back to civilian life.
Thanks to their own military connections, they are well aware that for many, that transition isn’t easy.
During the launch of their latest fundraising CD for the Homes for Heroes Foundation at the Walkerton Legion on Saturday, April 20, they told the crowd some of the facts that they find disturbing, and are determined to change.
They told how one in four veterans experiences difficulty when leaving the service; how they are twice as likely as others to end up homeless; how female veterans are even more likely to end up homeless.
“They stood on guard for us,” said Traversy and McNinch, clad in the old-style combat gear they wear when they make presentations such as Saturday’s. They said being homeless isn’t what the “homeless heroes” want – they want to be productive members of society. The first step is getting them into homes.
That’s where the Homes for Heroes Foundation comes in. The foundation acknowledges the special needs of military veterans who are homeless, and have found a solution that works.
Homes for Heroes builds “villages” of 20 tiny homes around a central community building. The villages provide more than homes – the Foundation works with Veterans Affairs to provide therapy, counselling and peer support, in an environment where the residents are part of a team, a family.
The idea is that they will spend one to three years there, and will leave when they are ready. The expectation is they will return, to provide peer support to the next group.
The concept is expanding. McNinch and Traversy told how the first village in Calgary is now part of a cross-Canada series of villages. There’s another in Edmonton, and a third in Kingston, with plans for more, including one in London.
They noted Homes for Heroes does so much more than get homeless veterans off the streets. The program helps restore pride and self-respect.
They also noted that every cent from the sale of their CD goes to help Homes for Heroes., a registered charity.
For more information, visit homesforheroesfoundation.ca.
Pauline Kerr, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Walkerton Herald Times
