True Patriot Love Local Community Fund

Funding will support the 2026 summer camp programming for children and youth from CAF and Veteran families across Southern Alberta, including Calgary, Red Deer, and Lethbridge.
The initiative includes three components:

Calgary Summer Day-Camps: Three one-week camps serving up to 30 children per day, offering structured, age-appropriate programming focused on skill-building, healthy play, leadership, and peer connection.

Camp Maple Leaf: Two one-week overnight camp experiences supporting 20 children, designed to foster resilience, coping skills, social connection, and a sense of pride and belonging within the military community.
‍
Camp Your Choice: Providing 40 youth in Red Deer and Lethbridge the opportunity to attend a camp of their choice in their own community, removing financial barriers and promoting autonomy.

A follow-up “Share and Celebrate” event brings participating families together to strengthen community ties. Overall, the program aims to strengthen youth wellbeing, reduce isolation, and build community connections for military-connected children and families across the region.

This project was developed to address gaps in support for military families during the pre-deployment and reintegration phases, which community feedback identifies as particularly stressful and isolating. Many programs focus on operational readiness or individual mental health, this initiative responds to the need for preventive, family-
centred supports. By offering accessible, low-barrier opportunities for families to connect, supported by reliable childcare.

Camp Maple Leaf (CML) delivers national, military-specific programming that supports the mental wellness, resilience, and social connection of children from Canadian Military and Veteran families. Through inclusive, peer-based camp experiences, children connect with others who share similar lived experiences, reducing isolation and
strengthening confidence and belonging.

The program combines group activities, leadership development, outdoor recreation, and experiential learning, including equine-assisted activities that promote emotional awareness, communication, and self-confidence. In addition, Camp Maple Leaf will pilot a National Military Week initiative to enhance connection, recognition, and community
pride among participating children.
‍
By subsidizing participation, funding removes financial and access barriers, ensuring children from diverse military and Veteran families can benefit from a safe, supportive environment that builds lasting friendships and resilience.

This project delivers a series of supervised, facilitator-led activities for children from military families aged 0–12, supporting children’s development while providing meaningful respite for parents. Activities include guided play, emotional expression exercises, self-esteem building, and other well-being-focused interventions.

The project has two components:
Playgroups in Sherbrooke will offer four annual sessions for children aged 0–12 in partnership with an external organization, responding to ongoing demand from local reserve units. An MFRC staff member will attend each session to connect with parents, share services, and maintain relationships with families who may be harder to reach
due to geographic distance.

The second component delivers 22 structured activities for children aged 5–12 at two locations. Together, these activities provide safe, stimulating environments for children while reducing parental stress linked to military life, including absences, atypical schedules, and increased caregiving demands.

With this funding, VTN will deliver a five-day Men’s Transition Skills Course in Manitoba in April 2026. This residential, trauma-informed program provides 50 hours of clinician-led group counselling, supported by trained veteran peers, and focuses on emotional
regulation, trauma processing, identity transition, and rebuilding connections with family, work, and community. All costs are covered to remove financial barriers. Limited access to veteran-specific, culturally competent care in Manitoba means many delay seeking help until crisis. VTN’s course offers early, accessible support close to home, helping veterans stabilize, reduce isolation, and strengthen families and
communities.

Roto 9 is the next delivery of Camp Aftermath’s one-year, three-phase, trauma-informed mental health and wellness program for Canadian Armed Forces Veterans living with operational stress injuries (OSI) as they transition to civilian life.

The program begins with virtual screening and preparatory workshops to establish safety and group cohesion, followed by a five-day in-person therapeutic retreat focused on peer connection, reflection, and skill-building in a structured environment. It concludes with 12 months of weekly virtual follow-up and peer support to ensure continuity of care and sustained engagement.
‍
Roto 9 was developed to address a gap in long-term, community-based supports for Veterans. While many access short-term clinical treatment, fewer receive sustained peer connection and follow-up. Designed by Veterans and informed by clinical best practices, the program emphasizes peer support, long-term engagement, and continuity of care to improve reintegration outcomes and complement existing clinical services.

The Mental Health Accessibility Project aims to improve access, coordination, and continuity of mental health services for francophone military families facing the unique pressures of military life. Its central objective is to ensure families receive the right support, at the right time, and in the right place, based on their real needs.
‍
An ACS+ approach is embedded throughout the project to reflect the diversity of military families. Interventions will be tailored to female spouses who experience elevated emotional and mental stress; male spouses who may face cultural barriers to seeking support; children and adolescents vulnerable to frequent relocations and school transitions; and families from diverse cultural or linguistic backgrounds who may
encounter additional access challenges.

Overall, the project will enable early identification of families experiencing psychological distress, provide systematic and personalized needs assessments, ensure continuous support throughout the care process, and strengthen coordination between community services, specialized providers, and military and veteran partners. By reducing delays and service disruptions, it seeks to prevent the escalation of mental health challenges and enhance overall family resilience and quality of life.

In 2026, the MFRC will deliver a multi-component summer program that includes two complementary camp opportunities and post-camp community-building activities. The “My Choice” program will provide 80 summer camp grants for children aged 5–16, empowering participants to select a camp that aligns with their interests.

In parallel, Camp Maple Leaf will offer 20 children the opportunity to attend week-long, military-specific camps in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, or New Brunswick, including a new Western camp at Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island.
‍
Another component of this program includes leadership development and long-term engagement by encouraging older youth to “pay it forward” through community involvement and service.

This program provides financial assistance to ensure military-connected children in Prince Edward Island can access summer camp experiences. This project will provide full or funding for at least 100 children from serving, released, and Veteran military families to attend the accredited summer camp of their choosing during summer 2026.
The program will remove financial, logistical, and psychosocial barriers to participation by covering registration fees and providing light wraparound support (application assistance, information, and followup) so that children can experience a typical, high quality summer camp alongside their peers.

This project brings together the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), Camp Maple Leaf, and the British Columbia Military Family Resource Centre to strengthen mental health literacy and peer support among youth and young adult leaders. Through MHCC’s evidence-based programs, HEADSTRONG and The Inquiring Mind Youth
(TIM-Y), Camp Maple Leaf staff and Counsellors in Training receive practical training to reduce stigma, support self-care, recognize mental health concerns, and appropriately support peers.

Participants gain concrete tools, including mental health continuum awareness and core resiliency skills, empowering them to promote mental wellness at camp and in their home communities while fostering a culture of early help-seeking and peer support.

Personnel Support Programs (PSP) summer camps at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt provide military-specific programming designed to strengthen military and Veteran families through resiliency building, self-discovery, and community connection. Delivered through the Community Recreation department and in close collaboration with the Esquimalt MFRC, the camps are intentionally designed to reflect the realities and challenges of military life without duplicating existing services.

The program offers inclusive, low-ratio camp environments that support children with diverse needs, including neurodivergent children and those experiencing increased stress and behavioural challenges during parental deployments and disrupted summer routines. PSP’s extensive inclusion of support ensures children receive appropriate care and stability during these periods.

Stronger, Closer, Together (SCT) is a five-day residential, group-based program that supports veterans and their partners in strengthening emotional connection, trust, and communication following military service.

Grounded in Emotion-Focused Therapy and adapted from Dr. Sue Johnson’s Hold Me Tight model, SCT helps couples repair attachment injuries, improve relationship satisfaction, and build family stability. All program costs

This partnership between Le Sentier and Quatre-Chemins is designed to support more Canadian Armed Forces veterans through a coordinated, seamless transition experience. The two organizations offer complementary services that avoid duplication, ensure a true continuum of intervention, maintain psychosocial support over time, and address the different stages of military-to-civilian transition through collaboration rather than siloed approaches.

The initiative provides a coherent continuum aligned with the transition journey. Upstream, transitioning members can attend Bivouacs or 24–48-hour Base Camps in nature to prepare emotionally and mentally. The 12-month Parcours program then supports deeper work on identity, well-being, purpose, and self-redefinition. Some members nearing discharge may join Parcours to better understand civilian life and
reduce uncertainty. A key feature is integrated psychosocial follow-up from Le Sentier before, during, or after participation, ensuring continuity, stabilizing individuals facing emotional or identity challenges, facilitating referrals when needed, preventing service disruptions, and supporting families.
‍
The project complements existing military transition services. While the discharge process emphasizes administrative, financial, and professional preparation, this partnership focuses on dimensions often left unaddressed: post-service identity, meaning, relationship to performance, and rebuilding social networks. Through active
collaboration with transition units in Quebec, including a joint 2025 panel at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu Base, the initiative strengthens civilian-military alignment and fills a critical gap between clinical care, administrative services, and identity transition support.

This initiative will support children of Veterans living with operational stress injuries
(OSI) to attend a Wounded Warriors Canada Warrior Kids Camp or Virtual Program.
Since launching in 2019, nearly 1,400 children have participated nationally, with more
than 200 parents engaging in follow-up support.
Funding will enable the delivery of three in-person camps and four virtual programs,
supporting approximately 250 children and positively impacting an estimated 1,00012
family members. Offering both camp and virtual options ensures national accessibility
across Canada.
The Warrior Kids Program is a core part of Wounded Warriors Canada’s holistic
approach,
providing evidence-informed programming that helps children understand the impact of
OSI, strengthen coping skills, build resilience, and reduce stigma within families.
Funding will also support the development of a digital resource, “Thriving as a Warrior
Family Impacted by an Operational Stress Injury,” further expanding reach and long-
term impact.