True Patriot Love Foundation welcomes Perley Health as one of seven partners in its new Veteran Volunteerism Initiative (VVI), a three-year program designed to draw upon the skills and experience of Veterans to aid challenges and meet needs in their communities.

Perley Health is a unique and innovative community that empowers Seniors and Veterans to live life to the fullest. Home to more than 600 Seniors and Veterans in long-term care and independent apartments, Perley Health provides a growing number of clinical, therapeutic, and recreational services to residents, tenants, and people from across the region.

The need coast to coast: replacing lost volunteers

By some estimates, 65% of community organizations in Canada no longer have enough volunteers to provide the services they once did. The drop has been particularly difficult for hospitals and long-term care homes. At Perley Health, while the dip in volunteerism has been significantly smaller, according to Rachel Stoparczyk, Coordinator of Volunteer Services, there are still challenges.

“As pandemic-related restrictions lifted, some of our volunteers did not return,” says Stoparczyk, “and fewer new volunteers are coming forward. Today, we have about 85% of the volunteers we did pre-pandemic. Another concern for us is that many want to volunteer only for short periods of time.”

Building a knowledge base

Perley Health and the other participating organizations will receive funding to support their participation in the Veteran Volunteerism Initiative. They will also work with an external evaluator and those learnings will also contribute to the development of a National Action Plan on Veteran Volunteerism and a national volunteer strategy.

True Patriot Love is also partnering with the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research (CIMVHR), which will play a lead role in building the knowledge base needed to better understand relationship between volunteerism and well-being in Veterans and their families.

Veteran volunteers, you’re needed!

“From companionship to meal assistance, to therapeutic recreation and more, we rely on volunteers to help us provide the best quality care,” says Stoparczyk. “Their skills, leadership abilities and their drive to be of service are powerful qualities that Veterans bring – and that we need.”

For more information on how you can get involved with the Veteran Volunteer Initiative at Perley Health, please contact Alma Cook, Veteran Liaison Coordinator, by phone at 613-526-7170 ext. 2877 or by email at: acook@perleyhealth.ca

You can also complete a volunteer application form on the Perley Health website.