Improving services
New partnership aims to benefit veterans and university students
A new partnership between UPEI and Veterans Affairs Canada is being trumpeted as a path to providing improved services for veterans and their families.
The memorandum of understanding (MOU), signed Wednesday at the university, facilitates discussion and collaboration between the two organizations in clinical services, recruitment, training and educational services.
The partnership aims to support research and education to foster new employees with the educational experience needed to meet the needs of veterans. “All of our work now is about improving our services and the user experience for veterans,’’ says Lisa Campbell, Veterans Affairs associate deputy minister.
“So, getting a grasp on our data and our evidence so that we can offer timely, appropriate service to veterans is the way of the future.’’
Campbell says increasing the amount of mental health services is a priority for Veterans Affairs.
“The Atlantic region, like the rest of Canada, doesn’t have enough clinical mental health service providers,’’ she says.
“So, the school (UPEI) would like to train more people in that area and we (Veterans Affairs) would like to provide more services. What better way than to have people working towards their doctorate in psychology, working in a clinic, offering their services not just to the community but to veterans, and gaining experience while they are at it.’’
Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay says he is eager to see the results of the partnership, which he is confident will help develop strategies to help veterans in need.
"Our government is committed to ensuring veterans and their families receive the best possible care,’’ says MacAulay.
Two years ago, Campbell was named champion of the University of Prince Edward Island as part of a federal program to match deputy ministers with universities to raise the profile of the university across the federal public service and highlight all of the areas of collaboration.
“We are very interested in recruiting and retaining new talent,’’ she says.
“We want to be a competitive employer and this MOU is as much about that as anything else.’’
Veterans Affairs employs just under 2,000 people with roughly half working in Charlottetown.
Campbell notes VAC offers employment in different fields, from communications to research and health sciences to clinical psychology.
Devon Clark, a third-year business student at UPEI, is the first student ambassador for Veterans Affairs.
He has met with more than 50 students to promote the federal public service as a place to work as a student or to forge a career.
Last summer, Clark worked at the department on a team called the Veterans Priority Program Secretariat helping set up events and doing outreach to different stakeholders.
“It was really exciting work,’’ he says, adding he can envision working in the public sector.
UPEI president Alaa Abd-ElAziz says the university is committed to developing strategic partnerships that contribute to the experiential learning of students and benefit the community.
“By signing this memorandum of understanding, we are creating the opportunity to discuss many possible collaborations that will enhance the educational experience of UPEI students and Veterans Affairs Canada employees, as well as assist veterans and their families,’’ he says.