Veterans in Silvermere

Royal Canadian Legion Branch 412

Your local Legion branch is the shortest path to community, advocacy, and Remembrance. Branch 412 serves Silvermere, Lakeside, and the surrounding area.

• Address: 248 Lakeshore Avenue, Silvermere, BC V0X 1G4
• Phone: 250-555-0100
• Email: legion@silvermere.example
• Branch: Royal Canadian Legion Branch 412, Silvermere

The Legion is a national service organization with the local branch as the primary community access point. What that typically means in practice:

• Veteran service officers can help you understand your VAC entitlements and assist with applications and appeals, a free service.
• The Poppy Campaign funds local veterans' assistance, bursaries for their children and grandchildren, and community support.
• Remembrance Day ceremonies, honour guards at veteran funerals, and community events.
• Social and community programming at the branch, open to members and often the public.

Veterans Affairs Canada benefits and services

Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) administers the federal programs that support veterans and their families. Many veterans qualify for programs they never claim because the path feels hidden, the Benefits Navigator is the tool VAC built to surface what applies to you.

Open a My VAC Account and run the Benefits Navigator questionnaire. It starts as a 10-minute questionnaire, no applications submitted yet, just clarity on what you may be eligible for. You can stop at any point.

Program areas include:

• Disability benefits , pain and suffering compensation, additional pain and suffering compensation, and disability pensions for service-related conditions.
• Health care , coverage for treatment of service-related conditions, access to the Federal Health Claims Processing system, and the OSI Clinic Network.
• Income support , Income Replacement Benefit, Canadian Armed Forces Income Support, and Retirement Income Security Benefit.
• Education and employment , Education and Training Benefit, Career Transition Services, and Rehabilitation Services and Vocational Assistance.
• Commemoration and recognition , funeral and burial support, grave-marker maintenance, and ceremonial honours.

Contact: 1-866-522-2122 (English), 1-866-522-2022 (French), or use the secure messaging inside My VAC Account.

Mental health and crisis support

Operational Stress Injuries (OSI) include PTSD, anxiety, depression, and substance-use conditions related to service. Support is free, confidential, and available whether you're a current VAC client or not.

VAC Assistance Service (24/7)

• Phone: 1-800-268-7708 (TDD/TTY 1-800-567-5803)
• Who can call: any veteran, former RCMP member, their family members, and caregivers. You do not need to be a registered VAC client.
• What it offers: up to 20 hours of free short-term psychological support with a bilingual mental-health professional (master's degree or higher), trained in crisis and suicide intervention. Each issue can access its own support allotment.

BC OSI Clinic network

The Operational Stress Injury Clinic network provides specialized assessment and treatment for veterans, Canadian Armed Forces members (Regular and Reserve), and RCMP members with service-related mental health conditions, and their families. In BC, the network is managed by Vancouver Coastal Health.

Referral: through VAC, the Canadian Armed Forces, or the RCMP. Your Veteran Service Officer at the Legion or the VAC National Contact Centre can help initiate a referral.

Funeral and burial assistance

The Last Post Fund is a non-profit that has administered funeral and burial assistance for Canadian veterans since 1909. The program is funded by VAC and ensures dignified services for eligible veterans.

Eligibility combines two tests:

• Military service: former Canadian Armed Forces (or predecessor Naval, Army, Air Forces of Canada or Newfoundland), Canadian Merchant Navy Veterans of WWII or the Korean War, or Allied Veterans who served in WWII or Korea; honourably discharged after basic training; lived in Canada at least 10 years (or was a resident before enlisting and at time of death).
• Financial or matter-of-right: the estate meets means-test thresholds, OR a VAC medical authority determines the cause of death is service-related.

Apply within one year of the veteran's death. Call the Last Post Fund at 1-800-465-7113 or apply through the online form on lastpostfund.ca. Your funeral director can often initiate the application on your behalf.

Lakeview Memorial Cemetery, veteran ossuary

Lakeview Memorial Cemetery at 300 Cedar Flats Road maintains a dedicated veteran ossuary for cremated remains, at a reduced rate ($150 resident, $225 non-resident). It's a respectful, low-cost option operated by the City. See the Cemetery & Bereavement Support page for full details and the broader fee schedule.

Remembrance Day in Silvermere

The Silvermere community gathers each year on November 11 to honour those who served. Legion Branch 412 coordinates local Remembrance ceremonies and the Poppy Campaign from late October through November 11.

• Buy a poppy. The Poppy Fund supports veterans, their families, and community programs. Poppies appear across town in the weeks leading to November 11.
• Attend the ceremony. Service times and locations are posted each fall by Branch 412; watch the City news section and the Legion's Facebook page.
• Request a colour party for a veteran's funeral through the branch.

For spouses, partners, and children

VAC programs extend to families as well as veterans themselves.

• Survivor's Pension and Children's Benefit through Service Canada (CPP) when a contributing veteran dies.
• VAC Caregiver Recognition Benefit a monthly tax-free amount for an informal caregiver of a veteran with a service-related disability.
• Educational assistance for children of deceased veterans through the Children of Deceased Veterans Education Assistance program.
• VAC Assistance Service is available to family members in their own right.

Additional programs worth knowing

• Helmets to Hardhats pathway into construction and skilled trades for veterans and reservists.
• Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC) programs and support for current and former military families.
• Veterans Emergency Fund short-term financial assistance for veterans and families in urgent need.
• OSISS (Operational Stress Injury Social Support) peer support for veterans, CAF members, and their families living with OSI.
• VAC Veterans Homelessness Program rent supplements and wraparound support for veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness.