The North Bay Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC) launched a campaign with the goal of increasing awareness, increasing community engagement, and encouraging the development of partnerships.
Officials at the MFRC say that will ease the transition from military to post-service life for Canadian Armed Forces members, Veterans and their families in North Bay.
As part of the event, Mayor Al McDonald proclaimed May 31st, 2018 as “Veteran Family Day” in the city of North Bay.
In November 2014, a joint announcement by the Ministers of Veterans Affairs and National Defence dedicated resources to launch 7 pilot sites for the Veteran Family Program across Canada, in order to provide specialized transition support for Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members and their families, as they transition from active service to post-service life.
North Bay was one of the original pilot sites for the program, which has become a permanent program at all 32 MFRCs in April 2018.
“We have focused the pilot phase of the program on learning about the unique challenges that transitioning to post-service life brings for families who live and settle in Northeastern Ontario. It became clear that community awareness and outreach were key,” said Tessa Clermont, MFRC Executive Director.
“This has helped us shape the Veteran Family Program in North Bay to be proactive and responsive to the geographic factors that cause families to not be able to access some of the specialized services that exist in more urban areas.”
The North Bay MFRC serves a very large geographic footprint, which includes most of Northeastern Ontario.
It is estimated that a large portion of releasing Veterans and their families settle in Northeastern Ontario after release.
“A vast network of programs and services are available to help Canadian Armed Forces Members and their families’ transition from military to post-service life,” said Tina Thomason, Veteran Family Program Coordinator.
“Often, for many sociocultural reasons, and particularly in Northeastern Ontario, families are unable to benefit from this network, which can have a devastating impact on our families and our communities,” Veteran Family Program Coordinator Carrie Gray said.
“It is because of the vast network of services combined with the geographical factors of being a Northern Community that increasing awareness, engaging the community and seeking partnerships are a priority for us in North Bay”.
One of the first companies to support the awareness campaign was Twigg’s Coffee Roasters, where the press conference took place at their location in downtown North Bay.
“We are honored to support Veteran families in the communities we serve, and in fact two of our franchisees are part of the Veteran community,” shared Jennifer Twigg, Owner, Twiggs Coffee Roasters.
“Veteran Family Day in North Bay is an opportunity to celebrate. By engaging the support of the community and providing a mechanism for individuals and groups to show support and spread awareness, we will extend our reach and ability to assist more families successfully transition from military life to our community.” Gray concluded.
