November 11, 2022 Remember Those Left Behind

Remembrance day 2022 began cold and bleak for far too many people. It was a chilly morning and the cool air pierced right through my body. I walked across the parking lot on my way to work thinking about all those who fought and died for our country so many years ago.

I also thought about the poor people who fought and lived. The ones who were forgotten and lost when they got home from serving overseas. So many veterans have suffered PTSD and returned to a country that made them feel unwelcome.

Too many now live on the streets of our cities. Unable to cope with the horrors of war, they are left behind, left to fend for themselves. 

Today, November 11, Remembrance Day, we observed a moment of silence honouring the fallen soldiers who died for our freedom. What about those who went to war in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, and all the other zones of conflict Canadian soldiers have been in the last fifty-plus years? Why are we not taking care of them every day of the year? 

Lest we forget?

In Canada, there are as many as 5000 veterans living on the streets. That number is merely a guess as there is no way to truly count the number of former Canadian soldiers who have ended up homeless. In the United States, the problem is exponentially worse, the guess is 60,000 vets living on the streets of America and approximately 1.4 million at risk of becoming homeless. Mental health is the leading cause of homelessness among vets, after everything they went through serving their country, why are they not being taken care of when they come home? Why are they left to their own resources?

Why indeed…

We must remember those who fought and died for our freedom. It is equally as important that we take care of the ones who served our nation in all the conflicts since.

On this Remembrance Day honour the fallen soldiers. At the same time don’t forget the ones left alive, the ones who are lost on the streets. It is time to take care of those left behind.