Will the Liberals keep their promise to Windsor veterans?

 

By Johnathan Hutton

Local veterans could soon see another Veteran Affairs office open in Windsor.

Last year, Windsor’s only Veteran Affairs office shut its doors due to budget slashes by the government. With the closure of the buildings local veterans have had to go to London for services like financial help and counseling.

According to the Liberal Party of Canada’s campaign platform, Trudeau  promised $14 million will go towards reopening nine Veteran Affairs’ offices. The Veterans Affairs office in Windsor is one of them.

With the election leading to a Liberal majority government, Windsor veteran Jeff Gravel wants to know if they will keep their promise.

Gravel, 40, served in the Bosnian peace keeping operation and the war in Afghanistan. upon his return, Gravel was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. To try to cope with his diagnosis he joined legion branch 143 near the Ambassador Bridge and began to interact with other veterans who had the same problem.

“Many of the legion members would go to the Veteran affairs office on University Avenue for help as well,” said Gravel. ” I went there for a bit but then the government announced they were closing it.”

Windsor’s Veteran Affairs office was closed last year following budget cuts by the Conservative government. Since then, veterans have had to go to London for counseling or have had to talk to someone over the phone if they needed help.

“The majority of veterans in Windsor don’t have the resources to go drive two hours to London and back for counseling,” said Gravel.

He also said besides going to the legion and talking to other veterans there, the only other place where he could go to talk to someone and heal was the Veteran Affairs office on University Avenue.

“When the Government closed the  office here in Windsor last year and I felt abandoned,” said Gravel. “They should take an honest look at the treatment of their soldiers and what works for veterans rather than imposing something that they think works throughout their budgetary constraints.”

While at the legion, Gravel met Larry Costello, 90, a petty officer in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War 2 and a Veterans Affair’s advocate.  Because many Windsor veterans aren’t able to go to London,  the two have started a support group for both younger and older veterans at branch 143. Their support group takes younger veterans and pairs them up with older ones like Costello. The goal of the pairing system is to provide the veterans with an opportunity to discuss their war experiences. They may also ask for advice from others on how to deal with issues that they are going through like PTSD.

“You just don’t forget what happened when you come back,” said Costello. “It takes time to heal and it helps a lot to talk to somebody who understands what you are going through.”

Both Gravel and Costello said they believe the majority of Veterans Affairs issues have been swept under the rug lately and they feel underappreciated.

“I love Canada and I love Windsor,” said Gravel. “I am proud to say that I fought for our country but it would be nice if the country fought for us as well.”