NEWS& MEDIA

Red Deer Advocate
Red Deer musicians launch song supporting Veterans and First Responders
Sean McIntosh – Friday, Nov. 1, 2019

A song created by local musicians to support veterans and first responders has been released.

“It took a team of people to come together and make this song sound as beautiful as it does,” said Tony Sowan, who wrote Valour and Pride.

Read the full article.

Global News Calgary
Calgarians walk for veterans to raise awareness about PTSD: ‘It’s not a disability’
Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019

About 100 people walked alongside veterans on the North Glenmore Park pathway in Calgary on Saturday morning to raise awareness about PTSD and suicide.

Steve Critchley is the founder of Can Praxis, an equine therapy program that helps people who have been diagnosed with operational stress injuries.

Read the full article.

Canadian Military Family Magazine
14-year old entrepreneur donates to organization that helps Veterans
Paige LeClair – Monday, Sept. 9, 2019

At just 14 years old, Paige Bain is using her entrepreneurial skills to give back to the community.

Bain started making hair scrunchies out of her home last January, and has so far sold over 350 scrunchies from her business, Simply Scrunchies.

Read the full article.

Kelowna Capital News
Rally through the Valley coming soon
Brendan Shykora – Friday, Aug. 16, 2019

The flag relay isn’t the only fundraising event Jeep Okanagan has scheduled in the next few weeks. On Sept. 1 they’ll have their second annual Rally Though the Valley, this time with proceeds going to Can Praxis, a charity that supports people struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Read the full article.

CTV
Charity event in southwest Calgary supports First Responders and Veterans

Michael Franklin – Sunday, July 7, 2019

The large gathering of people turned out to support a charity marathon event to support first responders and veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The 11th annual Stampede Road Race, hosted by Centaur Subaru, was held at Glenmore Athletic Park on Sunday morning.

The event include a 5 km, 10 km and half marathon race as well as a variety of kids races.

Read the full article.

Victoria News
Veteran-owned brewing company aims to ‘leave no one behind’
Shalu Mehta – Thursday, June 6, 2019

V2V Black Hops Brewing supports veterans’ organizations

Two years ago, Graeme Hafey found out he had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

A Canadian Armed Forces veteran, who was part of the Royal Canadian Navy as well as the Royal Canadian Air Force, Hafey said he was trained to keep a level-head and calm demeanour.

“It was only two years ago that I realized I had PTSD, and it made sense,” Hafey said. “I had nightmares and cold sweats … I went to the point where I couldn’t handle my stress.”

Hafey started off as a bridge officer in the navy because his dad was in it but he said he always wanted to fly. He went back to school to take prerequisites for the air force and in 1993, earned his wings.

Read the full article.

Kamloops This Week
Emotional aftermath of soldier’s death staged in ‘Brothers’
Sean Brady – May 23, 2019

The play is being presented as part of Hydra Festival, which will run from May 23 to June 1 at Thompson Rivers University’s Black Box Theatre in the Old Main building. 

Rancourt plans for the proceeds from the play to go to two groups: Can Praxis, an Alberta program that offers equine therapy to veterans and first responders, and Military Minds, a group raising awareness of services available to veterans.

Read the full article.

The YYC Scene
Calgary country act Nice Horse put their hearts in Horses For Heroes fundraiser for Can Praxis program
Mike Bell – Friday, Oct. 13, 2017 

Charity begins at home. And home is where the heart is.

Ipso facto, charity begins where your heart is.

For Calgary country quartet Nice Horse, that’s an easy one — their hearts are in an amazing place and charity begins at the same.

And on Saturday, Oct. 14 those hearts and that charity will come together at the Webber Academy Performing Arts Centre as they stage the Horses For Heroes fundraiser in support of the Can Praxis program.

Read the full article.

CTV News
Study shows success of specialized equine therapy for PTSD sufferers
Colleen Schmidt – Thursday, April 13, 2017

A new study is showing positive results from a specialized equine therapy program to help members of the military and their families to deal with the impact of post-traumatic stress.

Can Praxis is a national program based in Alberta that was started in March of 2013 for soldiers and their spouses to assist them with the negative effects of service-related PTSD.

“If you have PTSD in your family, two other things show up more than normal. One is crisis and the other is conflict and they both exacerbate all the other terrible symptoms of this injury. And so, that’s why we concentrate at Can Praxis on helping people to resolve conflict and manage crisis.

Read the full article.

The Globe and Mail
Where to get mental-health help in Canada
Colin Perkel – Saturday, April 8, 2017

The stories of Afghanistan war veterans who died by suicide are difficult to read. If you’re dealing with mental-health concerns, help is available in each province and territory. If you’re in crisis, go to your nearest hospital or call 9-1-1 or a crisis line.

The Canadian Mental Health Association offers a list of resources and contact numbers, cmha.ca.

The Canadian Forces and Veterans Affairs have programs to help military personnel and their families who are struggling with mental-health issues. They include:

• 24/7 member-assistance program at 1-800-268-7708. The program provides telephone counselling for issues such as marriage trouble, depression, alcohol or drug abuse and suicidal thoughts
• 24/7 family information line at 1-800-866-4546. The program offers telephone counselling to military families
• The Canadian Forces has information online about its mental-health resources, forces.gc.ca.

Many services exist outside the military to aid ill and wounded veterans. Here are some of programs that helped the Afghanistan war veterans profiled by The Globe and Mail. They include:

Homewood Health Centre is a 300-bed mental health and addiction facility in Guelph, Ont. The centre has a specialized traumatic stress recovery program. For details, visit homewoodhealth.com/health-centre or call 519-824-1010.

Project Healing Waters Canada offers fly-fishing instruction and excursions for ill and injured veterans. The program provides camaraderie and a focused activity that gets vets in touch with nature along with teaching them a new hobby. For details, e-mail gervaisjeffrey4@gmail.com or visit leseauxcuratives.com.

Outward Bound Canada teaches resilience and leadership through outdoor adventure in four provinces and has a program tailored to helping vets struggling with the physical or mental impact of their military experiences and transition back into civilian life. Visit outwardbound.ca or call 1-888-688-9273, ext. 205.

Citadel Canine Society is a Vancouver-based charity that trains and delivers service dogs across Canada to new veterans and first responders with occupational stress injuries for no charge. Visit citadelcanine.com or e-mail info@citadelcanine.com.

Can Praxis is a national program with locations in Alberta and Ontario that uses exercises with horses to help veterans dealing with mental illnesses such as PTSD. The program is free, including travel costs, lodging and meals for veterans enrolled in the program. For details visit canpraxis.com, e-mail steve@canpraxis.com or call 403-852-0907.

Wounded Warriors Weekend is an annual event that provides a long weekend of activities, camaraderie and relaxation for vets coping with PTSD and their families. Events are primarily held in Saskatchewan. Visit woundedwarriorsweekend.org or e-mail WoundedWarriorsWeekendFoundation@Gmail.com.

And there are further programs and support online. Among them:

Veterans Emergency Transition Services helps homeless and vulnerable veterans reintegrate into civilian life by connecting them with health care, veterans’ benefits and employment opportunities. The non-profit organization was started by a veteran in Halifax in 2010 and has grown to include volunteers nationwide. For details, visit vetscanada.org or contact the group at 1-888-228-3871 or vetscanada@gmail.com.

Wounded Warriors Canada scholarship program for children of veterans diagnosed with PTSD. Visit woundedwarriors.ca or phone 1-888-706-4808.

Send Up the Count is a Facebook group that offers military members and veterans quick, direct access to peers who have shared similar struggles and can ease some stress until the right professional connection is made. Visit facebook.com/groups/sendupthecount.

Military Minds is a website and Facebook group that links the afflicted and their families to the right agency and raises funds for vets in Canada, the United States, Australia and Great Britain. It’s managed by Canadian veteran Scott Casey, a former United Nations peacekeeper who served in the former Yugoslavia. For more information visit militarymindsinc.com or facebook.com/MilitaryMindsInc.

Alberta Farmer Express
Working with horses offers a lifeline to Vets
Alexis Kienlen – Sunday, Aug. 4, 2016

Alberta-based equine therapy program teaches Veterans how to communicate with their loved ones.

Horses can be a mirror for human behaviour — act aggressively or refuse to communicate and it will let you know.

“You can lie to a human, but you can’t lie to a horse,” said Steve Critchley, co-founder of Can Praxis, an Alberta-based equine therapy program that uses horses to help Canadian military veterans and families affected by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Read the full article.

Red Deer Advocate
Can Praxis hopes to expand work with PTSD sufferers
Susan Zielinski – Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016

Can Praxis is looking to grow its equine-assisted therapy program for veterans to include first responders who also suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Steve Critchley, who has run the program with psychologist Jim Marland since 2013, said expanding the program to first responders like police, ambulance and firefighters, will help ensure the program continues for veterans.

Read the full article.

The Calgary Herald
Alberta equine therapy program for veterans receives federal funding
Note: Federal funding awarded in 2016 was a one-time donation of $25,000.
Yolande Cole – Sunday, July 10, 2016

By the end of the three-day program, those same participants grow so fond of the animals that Critchley jokes “we have to physically stop them from trying to take one home in the trunk of their car.”

The evolution is an example of the “amazing” outcomes that the Can Praxis co-founder and facilitator says have resulted from the unique, Alberta-based program.

More than 140 couples have gone through the program, which is open to veterans and their spouses from across Canada who have been diagnosed with operational stress injuries, including post-traumatic stress disorder.

“The program is designed to deal specifically with the conflict and crisis that becomes part of a veteran’s life — as a matter of fact the whole family’s life,” Critchley says.

Read the full article.

Embassy News Canada
OSI treatments
Ally Foster – Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013 

Embassy embarks on a new series looking at how military operational stress injuries are handled in Canada. This week: the treatments.

Note: free trial subscription to Embassy Canada required to read the full article.

Ryan Edwards, a veteran who served in Bosnia in 1999, bonds with a horse at Can Praxis, an Alberta-based program that uses equine therapy to help soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. His wife Andrea, who attended the program with him, said it “provided us with the first sign of hope that we had after going through some very dark times.”