Category: veterans

On 18th September 2024 Maple Ridge Legion will be hosting the annual dinner to honour Veterans. If you are a veteran living in Maple Ridge or Pitt Meadows you are welcome. Also welcome are past presidents of the Branch or Ladies Auxiliary. Legion Membership is not required. The meal is served at 5.30pm, entry from 5pm.

ROAST BEEF DINNER AND DESSERT
Tickets are $10 (refundable) for Veterans.
Each Veteran may bring one guest for $15

Tickets to be purchased by September 12th
Purchase Tickets in person at Maple Ridge Legion
12101 224th Street, Maple Ridge, BC

The Royal Canadian Legion is proud to support the Burns Way.

The Burns Way is excited to launch a national campaign to recruit veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP to volunteer as Peer Advocates for the Burns Way — an anonymous peer support chat-only platform for ALL Canadian veterans.

For the first time in Canadian veteran history, Indigenous, non-Indigenous, and minority veterans have come together to create a space that is safe and judgment-free.  It is a place for veterans to take control and begin their journey to wellness.

This inclusive community will provide round-the-clock access to peer support. Using a smart device or a desktop browser, guests will connect anonymously with trained veteran peers who will bring shared experiences to the chats. When the chat is over, it all disappears, ensuring confidentiality. For those seeking help, there is no need to register, log in, or provide any personal information, and the Burns Way will never use chatbots. There are no waitlists. Connections are completed within seconds, with real people ready to respond with empathy.

The program launches this fall, but right now, the Burns Way is recruiting and preparing to train applicants to serve as veteran Peer Advocates. The Burns Way: A new hope for All Veterans.

For more information, head to the Burns Way website.

A link to the Burns Way is also in our Veterans Resources section.

On 18th September 2024, Branch 88 will be hosting our annual dinner to honour Veterans. If you are a veteran of the CAF,  of a Commonwealth country military or RCMP living in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows you are welcome, you do not have to be a member of the Royal Canadian Legion, all are welcome.

More details will follow.

Guide dogs have been helping humans for hundreds of years, but in recent years the use of dogs to help reduce symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other Operational Stress Injuries (OSIs) such as anxiety and depression has been on the rise. VAC in their report acknowledged that ‘service dogs provided a reduction of PTSD symptoms, a moderate long-lasting reduction of depressive symptoms and a significant increase in the subjective feeling of well-being related to overall quality of life.’ 

Our branch of the Legion has had experience of this, one of our own vets has a service dog that has changed his life for the better. The training of this dog was funded in part by our Legion. This is something that we would love to become a regular part of our donations and actively reach out to help our local Veterans who suffer with PTSD and OSIs.

However, although the use of service dogs for veterans has been a topic with Veteran’s Affairs Canada (VAC) for many years, in 2022 the government response to the VAC sixth report on the subject ‘Incorporating Service Dogs into the Rehabilitation Program of Veterans Affairs Canada’ was a refusal for this therapy to be regulated or covered by them. 

This is why Legion 88 is wanting to get involved to help our Veterans in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.

See the full story from the Legion Magazine.

https://legionmagazine.com/the-dogs-of-postwar/