UVic Survey Documents Ex-Soldiers' Struggles
A survey being conducted by University of Victoria education professor Tim Black and the Royal Canadian Legion aims to shed light on the painful struggles of some Canadian veterans trying to come to terms with civilian life.
“Many Canadian soldiers have difficulties making this adjustment after active service—whether it’s long past, as in the case of Second World War vets, or recently, as in ex-servicemen and women from Afghanistan,” says Black. “Until now there has been no published data on how our vets are doing.”
Black is partnering with the Royal Canadian Legion Dominion Command to conduct research via a Canada-wide online survey over the next three months (February through April). The link http://survey.uvic.ca/cvit/cvit.htm is posted on the Legion’s website.
The information gathered will also be posted on the Legion’s website and made available to veterans’ organizations, the Department of National Defense and interested government agencies, such as Veterans Affairs Canada, with the aim of targeting transition support to the most crucial areas.
Since 1998, Black has co-developed and now facilitates the Canadian Military and Veterans Transition Program, with groups running in Victoria, Vancouver, and eventually the Okanagan. Since then, the program has assisted approximately 90 veterans deal with problems involving traumatic memories, employability and family breakdown.
“Not every veteran has transition problems,” says Black, “but many do, and the problem is that most civilians simply have no idea what [the vets] are dealing with.
“Civilians naturally turn away from thoughts of body bags, ethnic cleansing and killing someone in the line of duty, but vets may have to live with these images for the rest of their lives,” says Black. “We have learned from many First and Second World War vets, often troubled by memories that come back to haunt them in their later years, that transition is a process that occurs across the lifespan.”
Black hopes to see more transition programs set up across Canada to increase public awareness and to give more veterans who are struggling to cope somewhere to turn for assistance.
“Many Canadian soldiers have difficulties making this adjustment after active service—whether it’s long past, as in the case of Second World War vets, or recently, as in ex-servicemen and women from Afghanistan,” says Black. “Until now there has been no published data on how our vets are doing.”
Black is partnering with the Royal Canadian Legion Dominion Command to conduct research via a Canada-wide online survey over the next three months (February through April). The link http://survey.uvic.ca/cvit/cvit.htm is posted on the Legion’s website.
The information gathered will also be posted on the Legion’s website and made available to veterans’ organizations, the Department of National Defense and interested government agencies, such as Veterans Affairs Canada, with the aim of targeting transition support to the most crucial areas.
Since 1998, Black has co-developed and now facilitates the Canadian Military and Veterans Transition Program, with groups running in Victoria, Vancouver, and eventually the Okanagan. Since then, the program has assisted approximately 90 veterans deal with problems involving traumatic memories, employability and family breakdown.
“Not every veteran has transition problems,” says Black, “but many do, and the problem is that most civilians simply have no idea what [the vets] are dealing with.
“Civilians naturally turn away from thoughts of body bags, ethnic cleansing and killing someone in the line of duty, but vets may have to live with these images for the rest of their lives,” says Black. “We have learned from many First and Second World War vets, often troubled by memories that come back to haunt them in their later years, that transition is a process that occurs across the lifespan.”
Black hopes to see more transition programs set up across Canada to increase public awareness and to give more veterans who are struggling to cope somewhere to turn for assistance.
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Media contacts
Tim Black (Faculty of Education) at 250-721-7820 or tblack@uvic.ca
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Keywords: uvic, survey, documents, exsoldiers, struggles
