ACROSS CANADA, 9 JUNE 2018 – Veterans Emergency Transition Services Canada (VETS Canada) is hosting its third annual Coast to Coast Tour of Duty in communities across Canada on Saturday June 9th at 13h00 local time. The Tour of Duty is a national Walk with a dual purpose; to encourage countrywide awareness and dialogue regarding Veteran homelessness / Veteran homelessness prevention, and to locate Veterans in crisis from coast to coast.
Walks will be led by teams of VETS Canada volunteers in twenty one cities across Canada including: St. John’s, Sydney, Halifax, Charlottetown, Moncton, Fredericton, Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, Barrie, Cambridge, Windsor, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Kelowna, Vancouver, Victoria and Whitehorse. This public is encouraged to join in our efforts by participating in a local Walk. Please RSVP by emailing info@vetscanada.org.
VETS Canada 2018 Tour of Duty Locations from Coast to Coast:
- John’s, NL – Sheraton Parking Lot Downtown (115 Cavendish Square, St. John’s)
- Sydney, NS – The Big Fiddle (74 Esplanade, Sydney)
- Halifax, NS – Salvation Army (2044 Gottingen Street, Halifax)
- Charlottetown, PE – Daniel J. MacDonald Building (161 Grafton Street, Charlottetown)
- Moncton, NB – Royal Canadian Legion Branch 6 (100 War Veterans Avenue, Moncton)
- Fredericton, NB – Royal Canadian Legion Branch 4 (199 Queen Street, Fredericton)
- Montreal, QC – Old Brewery Mission (902 Saint-Laurent Boulevard, Montreal)
- Ottawa, ON – Salvation Army Booth Centre (171 George Street, Ottawa)
- Kingston ON – Home Based Housing (540 Montreal Street, Kingston)
- Toronto, ON – Ontario Veterans’ Memorial (Queen’s Park, Toronto)
- Barrie, ON – Parking Lot Across from Salvation Army Mission (16 Bayfield Street, Barrie)
- Cambridge, ON –Royal Canadian Legion (Galt) Branch 121 (4 Veterans Way, Cambridge)
- Windsor, ON – Royal Canadian Legion Branch 255 (5645 Wyandotte Street East, Windsor)
- Thunder Bay, ON – Salvation Army (545 Cumberland Street North, Thunder Bay)
- Winnipeg, MB – Siloam Mission (Entrance at 301 Stanley Street, just North of Logan Avenue)
- Edmonton, AB – The Mustard Seed Edmonton (10635 96 Street Edmonton)
- Calgary, AB – Celebration Square (aka C Square, 502 7th Avenue SE, Calgary)
- Kelowna, BC – Kelowna City Park (1600 Abbott Street, Kelowna – Near the Tennis Courts)
- Vancouver, BC – Victory Square (At the Cenotaph on Cambie and Hastings Street)
- Victoria, BC – Tim Horton’s (1410 Blanshard Street, Victoria)
- Whitehorse, YT – Whitehorse Soup Kitchen (306 Alexander Street, Whitehorse)
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“Last year’s event allowed us to identify 17 homeless and/or in-crisis Veterans, and we received many more referrals for emergency assistance after the fact, due to the event’s publicity,” says Jim Lowther, VETS Canada Co-Founder / CEO & President. He adds: “One of the things that sets VETS Canada apart from other Veteran initiatives is that we don’t wait for those in crisis to come to us; our volunteers literally hit the streets boots on the ground in their local communities in search of Veterans who need our help. The Tour of Duty is just that, but on a national scale.”
About VETS Canada
VETS Canada, a national charity and service provider of Veterans Affairs Canada, is the largest 24/7 Canadian organization dedicated to addressing the emergency needs of homeless and in-crisis Veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP. Our hundreds of dedicated volunteers (primarily Veterans or still-serving military members) have relied on a unique model of peer support to provide life-saving aid in response to thousands of requests for assistance since 2010. It is our firm belief that no Veteran who served to protect our homes should ever be without one. Learn more at www.VETSCanada.org.