November 5, 2025
-by Bonny MacIsaac
Mental illness is a widespread yet often unseen struggle that touches people from every background. Among those most profoundly affected are the nation’s veterans and their families, who face challenges shaped by their selfless dedication to service. The legion stands as a steadfast pillar of support, committed to ensuring that veterans and their loved ones have access to essential care and resources – particularly when it comes to mental health. The challenges veterans encounter, both during active duty and in the difficult transition back to civilian life, are complex and deeply personal. Many carry the burden of lasting physical injuries, the grief of losing comrades, the effects of operational stress injuries, and the ongoing impact of mental health issues such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
These trials are not merely isolated incidents but represent a collective tapestry of experiences that define the lives of those who have served. In the face of these formidable challenges, the legion stands as a steadfast pillar of support, mirroring the unwavering commitment of those it serves. While the legion does not offer specialized mental health services directly, it has forged a lifeline through its dedicated service officer network. This network serves as a compass, expertly navigating veterans and their families towards an array of available programs and services that can provide the crucial help they need to rebuild and heal.
Amidst the darkness that sometimes shrouds the journey toward mental wellness, the legion remains a beacon of hope and support, a testament to the enduring bond between Canada and its veterans. In times of crisis, they can rely on immediate assistance, such as the 24-hour toll-free crisis helpline, offering professional counseling and referral services, focusing on mental and emotional health concerns. Additionally, the Family Information Line, accessible around the clock, provides confidential and bilingual assistance, offering vital information, support, referrals, reassurance, and crisis management to the military community.
To explore the full spectrum of support and resources available, visit the legion's website, where hope and help converge for those who have given so much for our nation.
Immediate, emergency help is available:
– For any emergency or crisis situation, call 911
– For all veterans or their families who are in emergency situations or need help call the 24 hour toll free crisis help line 1-800-268-7708. This CAF/VAC Assistance Service is a 24-hour toll-free help line that can provide all veterans and their families with short-term professional counselling and referral services, including support for mental and emotional health concerns.
– The Family Information Line is a confidential, personal and bilingual service offering information, support, referrals, reassurance and crisis management to the military community. Trained Family Information Line counsellors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist you. Phone: 1-800-866-4546
To find out what other services are available check out the legion's website at: https://www.legion.ca/support-for-veterans/mental-health-ptsd
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Did you know? On June 30, 1948, 77 years ago, The Royal Canadian Legion was given the responsibility to safeguard the poppy as a sacred symbol of remembrance by the people of Canada through an act of Parliament in which the legion was granted trademark copyright of the poppy symbol in Canada. This responsibility was bestowed upon the legion to ensure that the largest veterans organization in the country would be able to act in preserving the poppy as a sacred symbol of the sacrifice of our veterans.
In doing so, the legion accepted the obligation to ensure that it would never be used for commercial or personal gain and would never be desecrated through inappropriate use. It is for this reason – ensuring respectful and appropriate use of the poppy symbol – that the legion requires permission for the use of the trademark poppy, or the poppy image as it relates to remembrance. - Source: Royal Canadian Legion
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This year and every year we wear poppies, an international symbol to honour those Canadians who lost their lives in defence of our country.
How much do you know about the poppy? Here are some poppy facts:
– During the Napoleonic Wars, the poppy drew attention as the mysterious flower that bloomed over the graves of fallen soldiers.
– In the 20th Century, the poppy again was widely noticed after soils in France and Belgium became rich in lime from rubble during the First World War. The little red flowers flourished around the graves of the war dead as they had 100 years earlier.
– In 1915, Guelph, Ontario native John McCrae, a doctor serving with the Canadian Forces Artillery, recorded this phenomenon in his famous poem “In Flanders Fields.”
– Two days before the Armistice, Moina Michael, an American woman from Athens, Georgia, read the McCrae poem and was inspired to wear a poppy year-round in memory of the war dead.
– In 1920, Madame E. Guérin of France visited the United States and happened to meet Miss Michael at the YMCA at Columbia University, where the latter was a volunteer. Madame Guérin then resolved to sell handmade poppies around Armistice Day to raise money for poor children in the war-torn areas of Europe.
– In 1921, Field-Marshall Earl Haig, the former Commander-in-Chief of the British Armies in France and Belgium and the principal founder of the British Legion, was sold on Madame Guérin's fundraising idea and approved organization of the British Poppy Day Appeal by the Legion to raise money for poor and disabled veterans.
– The same year, Madame Guérin visited Canada, and convinced the Great War Veterans Association (predecessor to the Royal Canadian Legion) to similarly adopt the poppy as a symbol of remembrance in aid of fundraising.
– Today, the Poppy Campaign is one of the Royal Canadian Legion's most important programs. The money raised from poppy sales provides direct assistance for ex-service people in financial distress, as well as funding for medical appliances and research, home services, care facilities, and numerous other purposes.
What is the proper way to wear a poppy? The Royal Canadian Legion suggests that the Poppy be worn on the left lapel of a garment or as close to the heart as possible.
Many thanks to Veteran's Affairs Canada and the Royal Canadian Legion for this information. May we never forget.
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A reminder - Remembrance Day brings out the flags, the solemn ceremonies, the heartfelt thanks… and charitable solicitations. According to Better Business Bureau, donation requests from veterans and military-affiliated charities are always high around Remembrance Day and throughout the holiday season.
To ensure that your donations go just where you want them to, do a bit of research first. BBB Wise Giving Alliance offers the following tips on giving to veterans and military-affiliated organizations:
Mistaken Identity: Watch out for name confusions. Many veterans’ charities include virtually the same words in different order or slightly different form.
Clear Program Description: Look for a clear description of the organization’s programs in its appeals and on its website. If the charity says it is helping veterans, does it explain how (financial assistance, shelter, counseling) and where it is doing so?
Telemarketing Cautions: Telemarketing can be a costly method of fundraising unless carefully managed. If called, do not hesitate to ask for written information on the charity’s programs and finances before making a donation decision.
On-the-Spot Donation Decisions: Be wary of excessive pressure in fundraising. Don’t be pressured to make an immediate on-the-spot donation. Charities should welcome your gift whenever you want to send it.
Donating Used Clothing and Other Goods: Find out how the charity benefits from the collection and resale of used clothing and other in-kind gifts. Sometimes the charity receives only a small portion of the resale price of the item or may have a contractual arrangement to get a flat fee for every household pick-up, no matter what the contents.
Check with Outside Sources Before Giving: BBB’s give.org offers charity monitoring and other information for donors. You may also want to check the charity listings with the Canada Revenue Agency to see if the charity has a current registration.
Great advice from the Maritime's Better Business Bureau. Keep up to date with any scams that are happening by logging onto the webpage at: www.bbb.org/atlantic-provinces/ and follow the links.
