Veterans, politicians rally to save Veterans Affairs office

Veterans and politicians continue to rally in an attempt to save Windsors Veterans Affairs office.

The office on University Avenue is one of nine slated to close across Canada in February 2014.

A rally was held at Charles Clark Square Friday.

Jeff Gravel, a veteran who served in Afghanistan, retired from the armed forces in 2009 and now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He uses Windsors Veterans Affairs Office at least once a month.

He relies on staff there for help find health care, mental health care, enrolling in school and filling out forms.

I need the face-to-face [service]- Veteran Jeff Gravel

I need the face-to-face [service]. I have the inability to concentrate at times and I feel the paperwork overwhelming to fill out at times, he said.

Staff at the office also coordinates doctors to treat Gravels PTSD. He suffers from nightmares and anxiety and has the inability to control his emotions at times.

Its a difficult feeling to describe. Its not that life here isnt comfortable. Its just a different life all together, he said. Were not soldiers here. Im not a soldier anymore. The threats we face here arent the threats wed face on a daily basis. And theyre fairly insignificant here for the most part.

Gravel called the office very important to him.

And I consider myself healthier than I have been in years but I still have issues, he said. I have several colleagues and peers in the area that I know are struggling and are worse off than me, in some ways.

Ottawa announced the closures in February 2013.

Services moving to London

In an email to CBC News, Ministry of Veterans Affairs spokesperson Janice Summerby said services standards will not change.

Service standards will not change.- Ministry of Veterans Affairs

Veterans across Canada can continue to rely on home visits from nurses and case managers for those who require them, she wrote. Veterans who are currently being served by case managers out of the Windsor Office will continue to be served, once that office is closed, from the Veterans Affairs Canada office in London.

Gravel has a case manager in Windsor. Hell have to go to London once the office closes.

When they close that office these men and women have nowhere to go. Giving us a bus ticket to London isnt an easy fix. For me, its a day out of school. For anyone employed, its a day out of work. No one compensates us for that. VA isnt compensating me that time, he said. I dont want red-carpet service. I want services that were initially provided to us after the promise for Vimy Ridge.

I think they need to listen to the veterans. These are men and women who stop dictatorships, intervene in very troubling times in very troubling places. Not only do the veterans have to live with the consequences of the places they served and what they may have had to do, but the families, the friends and people close to them have had to pay a price that goes unnoticed. Its the little things that count, the one-on-one customer care.

'Windsor responded' to call of duty

Windsor West NDP MP Brian Masse called the decision to close the office totally unacceptable.

The community is unified to fight for this. We have an extensive social media campaign and letter writing petitions. If theyre going to turn their backs on our veterans theyre going to be pushed back at, Masse said at a rally Friday.

He also raised the issue in the House of Commons earlier in the week.

"Windsor is a community that responded to the call. It provided our nation's capital the Korean war memorial. Our men and women stepped during the Great Wars, Korea, Afghanistan and countless peacekeeping missions," he said. "Instead of honouring these contributions, Conservatives are closing our veterans' office and others, forcing veterans to travel for hours to get help.".

Read the Ministry of Veterans Affairs email below: