Veterans across the country have been speaking out against the closure of nine Veterans Affairs offices nationwide, including two in the Maritimes.
Last week, veterans attended a March in Ottawa to protest the closures, saying they depend on the face-to-face service provided at local offices.
Shortly after the protest, Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino wrote a letter to a Sydney newspaper, assuring vets that they would continue to receive support after the Sydney office closes in February.
According to the letter, veterans will still receive home visits from case managers and will be “able to access information about programs and services online – including innovative mobile apps that provide customized mental health support.”
However, the apps are not going over well with some veterans.
Ronald Clarke, a 73-year-old veteran of the Vietnam War, has tried to use the app on an iPhone to access help for post-traumatic stress disorder.
“What I would need right now is a magnifying glass to read this,” says Clarke.
Clarke and fellow veteran Terry Collins, who is in his 40s, say the font is too small, the iPhone screen too sensitive, especially if they were experiencing strong PTSD symptoms.
“If you wake up in the middle of the night in a crisis situation with PTSD, everything is moving very quickly in your head. You’re a little bit aggressive, you have no patience at all,” says Collins.
When the veterans continued to try and use the app, it asked them if they would like to talk to someone.
When they called a phone number to reach a PTSD counsellor, they were told they could speak with her, or have a professional visit in person.
Clarke says he asked long it would take to set up an appointment and was told the counsellor has two working days to call him back.
Clarke then asked what he should do if he were in dire need of immediate help and was told to call 911 or a doctor.
“I tell ya right now, I won’t try an app like that,” says Clarke. “That frustrated me so much and upset me. I had to get away from it.”
“Totally frustrated, totally disappointed and I feel my government has let me down,” says Collins.
The men plan to voice their displeasure again Thursday night at a town hall meeting at the Sydney Legion.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ryan MacDonald
