Event: Remembrance Day ceremony at UBC for the community
Date: Friday, November 11, 2011
Time: 10:45 – 11:35 a.m. (Doors open at 10 a.m.)
Location: UBC’s War Memorial Gym, 6081 University Boulevard, Vancouver
For parking information and a map, visit: http://www.maps.ubc.ca/?428
The annual Remembrance Day ceremony at the University of British Columbia, which often draws more than 1,000 people, will honour all those who have served in times of war, military conflict and peace.
The ceremony will include music provided by the UBC School of Music, short readings and remarks. Members of the platform party include:
- Joyce Murray, MP, Vancouver Quadra
- Reverend Roberta Fraser
- Louise Nasmith, Principle, UBC College of Health Disciplines
- Tim Laidler, Operations Coordinator, Veteran’s Transition Program
- Jeremy McElroy, President, Alma Mater Society, UBC’s Vancouver campus
Free parking is available up to 1 p.m. on November 11 in the General Services and Administration Building (GSAB) parking lot beside the War Memorial Gym and at the meters on Wesbrook Drive (from University Boulevard north to the Bus Loop).
Parking is also available in the North Parkade at a cost of $6.00 for the day (coins or credit cards).
For more information, visit: http://www.ceremonies.ubc.ca/what-we-do/remembrance-day-ceremony/
BACKGROUND: Tim Laidler and UBC’s Veteran’s Transition Program
Tim Laidler is a former participant and the current operations coordinator for UBC’s Veteran’s Transition Program – a program that assists former members of the Canadian military in their transition back to civilian life. Laidler completed an eight-month tour of Afghanistan as a reservist carrying out convoy escorts across the Kandahar province in 2008. The Veteran’s Transition program, which is designed to help soldiers deal with stress-related injuries and make sense of their military experience and its impact on their lives, helped Laidler deal with own experiences in Afghanistan. Today Laidler is working towards his master’s degree in counseling psychology in UBC’s Faculty of Education and is assisting other soldiers deal with their transitions as the operations coordinator for the Veteran’s Transition Program. Established in 1997, more than 200 veterans have gone through the program. It is estimated that up to 30 per cent of returning soldiers are traumatized in active combat. They experience symptoms such as nightmares, sleeplessness and an inability to concentrate, making them prone to isolation and overuse of alcohol and drugs. Veteran soldiers are also twice as likely to commit suicide as non-veteran civilians.
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