Vanguard Magazine

40 DECEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020 www.vanguardcanada.com GAME CHanGER See the full interview online Q How did you start out in this industry and how has it brought you to where you are today? I have a personal connection to the war in Afghanistan. On June 11, 2007, Trooper Darryl Caswell, a high school friend of mine, was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. I'll never forget that day, and I struggled to comprehend how the war, which felt so distant and detached from our everyday at home, could have such a devastating impact on a young man, his family and the com- munity of Bowmanville, Ontario. Fol- lowing Darryl's death, I made a person- al pledge to find a way to give back to those who so bravely serve Canada. A year later I began working for the Hon. Dan McTeague in Ottawa and be- came aware of Sapper Mike McTeague's harrowing story. Mike was Dan's neph- ew, and on September 18, 2006, he was injured badly by a suicide bomber travel- ling on a bicycle who killed four Canadi- an soldiers and injured a number of oth- ers. Mike survived and later that year the Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded War- rior Fund was established by members of his regiment and supportive civilians. During my time working in Ottawa, I met members of the Fund and began to pay close attention to the issues fac- ing our ill and injured veterans and their families. It is the above-mentioned expe- riences that led me to where I am today. Q What is your role in your organization today? As Executive Director, I am responsible for the two primary functions of Wound- ed Warriors Canada: the operations of the charity (fundraising) and our mental health service provision (programming). Q What was your most challenging moment? The most challenging moment – or period of transition in our case – was transforming Wounded Warriors Canada from a fundraising/dispersing organi- zation to a direct mental health service provider. Amongst a number of chal- lenging steps that we faced; the process required several difficult conversations with third party program providers – many of whom we had worked with for years – informing them that they were no longer going to be receiving funding from WWC. Q What was your "aha" moment or epiphany that you think will resonate most with our reader? My "aha" moment occurred in 2017 when we completed our first pilot pro- gram delivery with first responders. At the time, we weren't sure how our programs (built for veterans struggling with the effects of Operational Stress Injuries like PTSD) would respond to police, firefighters and paramedics. Fol- lowing the program, we reviewed the participant feedback, which outlined how their injuries had affected both themselves and their family members. The information provided was virtually indistinguishable from the responses we were accustomed to receiving from the veteran population. It highlighted ex- plicitly that, in short, trauma is trauma. It wasn't long after this that we officially expanded our scope to include support for ill and injured veterans, first respond- ers and their families. Q What is the one thing that has you most fired up today? Mental health awareness has improved drastically over the last five years. Hav- ing said that, a fundamental disconnect remains in Canada between having a con- versation around mental health and actu- ally receiving psychological healthcare in a timely fashion. Waitlists are increasing, and it is imperative that all stakeholders work closer together to reduce barriers to care. This is a topic that fires me up and one that our team is working hard to keep pace with internally. Q What is a habit that contributes to your success? The habit I strive to live by is hard work. I find that when I work hard success has come to the organization at its own pace and at the right time. You can't force suc- cess, but you can certainly work hard to achieve it. Q What are some of the biggest impediments to innovation in your industry sector? The charitable sector exists most com- monly at the community level to help fill gaps that exist in the provision of a wide array of services. While this work is much needed, it tends to be focused more on helping to provide near-term support with less focus and capacity to work on inno- vative change to help mitigate the gaps themselves. Q How has innovation become engrained in your organization's culture and how is it being optimized? As an organization, we always wanted to do what wasn't being done. We call this "taking leaps of faith" and have been able to optimize several different programs na- tionally as a result of our innovation in key areas of our sector: PTSD Service Dogs and trauma support for couples, as two examples. Q What is your parting piece of advice? My parting piece of advice would be: cre- ate a plan that unites your team, stick to it, and trust the process. scott Maxwell exeCutive direCtor Wounded Warriors Canada

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