Lifelong act of service: Chilliwack veteran, nurse continues fight by helping others

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For Johnson, remembering the fallen means carrying the memory of Mike, a fellow deployment to Iraq who was killed by a roadside bomb one day before he turned 24.

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The experience helped him understand that remembering tragedy must also include the survivors who come home and never stop fighting their own battles, whether it’s from anxiety and substance use, or depression and housing insecurity.

“When I left the military in 2009, I was still learning how to face my own experiences. Coming to terms with my experiences began when I decided to become a registered psychiatric nurse and joined Fraser Health. Working with clients helped me recognize my own need for mental well-being and I began to see myself in those I served.”

The U.S. Army veteran joined Fraser Health in 2014 and is now part of the local Integrated Health Supports Team, guiding others through a path of healing by using his own experiences.

A turning point came with the birth of his first son.

“I realized I didn’t want my children to inherit the same burdens that I carried, and with that awareness, it became my responsibility to break the generational trauma that had preceded me,” he said.

“It has been a long road that continues today, but I walk it so that my sons won’t have to. I walk it with the hope that I am the last of my kind.”

If you or someone you know is a veteran in need of mental health support, you can call Veterans Affairs Canada Assistance Service at 1-800-268-7708, or Fraser Health Crisis Line at 604-951-8855 or toll-free 1-877-820-7444, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.