Winnipeg’s Home for Heroes village a step closer to construction

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Winnipeg is one step closer to having the Winnipeg Kinsmen Veterans’ Village for military veterans experiencing homelessness become a reality.

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Sue Milner and her husband, Al Stayura, arrived in Winnipeg on Thursday afternoon after travelling across the country with the Rolling Barrage PTSD Foundation. They stopped to meet with Kevin Klein, committee chair of the Homes for Heroes Kinsmen Village in Winnipeg, to donate money from their travels to the Home for Heroes project locally.

The mission of Homes for Heroes is to integrate all homeless military veterans into the community by providing housing and support services across Canada. They are achieving this by building unique and affordable urban villages in major cities across Canada where homeless veterans can successfully reintegrate into civilian life. The organization also provides the resources, services, and training tenants need to achieve the goal of long-term independent living.

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Sue Milner’s dedication to honouring Canada’s military is deeply rooted in her family history. Growing up as a military child with family members who served, it was natural for Milner to dedicate herself to raising awareness about the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).

“This is my mission. I was meant to do this,” Milner told Canadian Military Family Magazine. She founded Footsteps of Canadian Heroes with her husband, an initiative that involves travelling across Ontario with a specially designed trailer. This trailer honours the men and women of the CAF. It commemorates fallen soldiers, including Milner’s uncle, Lt. James Milner, who was killed in action 55 days after landing on Juno Beach during the Second World War.

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In the summer of 1944, Milner’s father and uncle fought in Europe. On July 25, Lt. James Panet Milner was killed near Caen, France, while serving with the Canadian Armoured Corps. Milner’s father, Lt. W.E. Milner, served in Italy then and never spoke much about the war.

Milner’s connection to the military was stronger than that of her siblings. As a child, she watched war movies with her father and was always drawn to military life. Her mother’s side of the family also served in the CAF, with two uncles in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

The events of September 11, 2001, profoundly affected Milner. That day, she was headed to Ottawa for shopping when the attacks happened. Shocked by the events, she felt compelled to return home. A few days later, she woke up in the middle of the night and wrote her first poem, “Freedom Mourned.” Her husband encouraged her to share it, and she called the U.S. embassy, which requested a copy immediately. Since then, Milner has written more than 5,000 poems, won multiple awards and published two books.

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Proceeds from her books have supported causes like Wounded Warriors Canada, Soldier On, and the Canadian Heroes Foundation. In 2019, she fulfilled a dream by designing a trailer to raise awareness about Canada’s military, veterans, and fallen soldiers. Since 2020, Milner and her husband have participated in numerous events, including the Rolling Barrage, Walk for the Wounded, and Royal Canadian Legion events.

This year, the couple joined the Rolling Barrage on their cross-country journey, collecting donations for the Homes for Heroes Village to be built in Winnipeg.

Mark Goldade, an executive board member of Rolling Barrage, told the Winnipeg Sun, “They are an amazing couple. They didn’t ask for anything and used their own money to fund their travel.”

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“The goal is to bring awareness. I want my uncle’s memory, and the memory of all soldiers we’ve lost, to never be forgotten. This is why I do what I do,” Milner said in a previous story in Canadian Military Family Magazine.

Construction is expected to begin soon in Winnipeg. Plans are also in place for three villages in B.C., two more in Ontario, one in Atlantic Canada, and potentially one in Quebec.

Homes for Heroes projects are currently operational in Calgary, Edmonton, and Kingston, Ont.

Have thoughts on what’s going on in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada or across the world? Send us a letter to the editor at wpgsun.letters@kleinmedia.ca

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