Β ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION
Partners in Changing Lives
LEGION SUPPORT UPDATES
Celebrating Community in the Okanagan
Members of our management team visited our Okanagan Region recently and enjoyed the warm hospitality of our amazing community there.
THANK YOU NORTH BURNABY LEGION #148
We would like to thank the North Burnaby Royal Canadian Legion (Branch #148) for their generous donation of $7,500 from their Poppy Fund in support of PADS Program.
THANK YOU POWELL RIVER LEGION #164
PADS Development Manager Jane Short, along with Veteran Matt and PADS Fischer visited the Powell River Royal Canadian Legion (Branch #164) to present Valerie McGregor, Trustee of the Powell River Branch, with a plaque in appreciation of their generous support of out PTSD program.
THANK YOU COQUITLAM LEGION #263
Volunteers Ken with PADS Waffle and Kerry with PADS Sprinter visited the Coquitlam Royal Canadian Legion (Branch 263) last week to present them with a plaque in appreciation of their ongoing and generous support of our PTSD programs. Laurie Chapman, chair of the...
THANK YOU ROYAL CANADIAN BC/YUKON FOUNDATION
On November 16, 2023 PADS Executive Director Laura Watamanuk and PADS Radar visited the The Royal Canadian Legion Foundation | BC/Yukon Command to receive a $10,000 cheque from Executive Director Amber Stewart representing donations from the following Legion branches:...
THANK YOU NORTH BURNABY LEGION #148
We would like to thank the Burnaby Royal Canadian Legion Branch #148 for their generous donation of $6,000 from their Poppy Fund. Our Marketing & Media Coordinator, Meredith Areskoug, with PADS Gamora, visited the Burnaby Legion on Sunday, September 24, 2023 with...
Service Dogs for Veterans
Since 2018, PADS has been training and placing certified assistance dogs with Veterans and serving military members living with PTSD. Β Our goal is to increase the level of independence, enhance the quality of life, and increase community engagement for people living with PTSD. Service Dogs reduce the severity of the symptoms, speed recovery, and help reduce reliance on medication.
Veterans matched with a service dog showed a statistically significant decrease in PTSD and depression symptoms. In addition, for most participants, these decreases were both clinically significant and reliable. Further, participants reported significant reductions in anger and improvement in perceived social support and quality of life.β – Megan Kloep, PhD.
Meet Matt & PADS Fischer
Matt served in the Canadian Army for over 20 years, and was deployed in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. Proud of his military service, Matt continued a family tradition going back over a century. He was a leader and enjoyed his military career, until he didnβt anymore. Matt says that by the time he was in Afghanistan he began to question his role as a Peacekeeper. In 2014 he was medically released from service with severe PTSD and in 2022 was matched with PADS Fischer.
βThis very wonderful fur-friend is a stalwart and incredibly astute worker, who has had my 6 wherever we go. I appreciate him immensely.βΒ