Detective John Langford of the Calgary Police Service (CPS) is a Veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces. He is nominated for his “significant, sustained and voluntary contributions in support of Veterans experiencing homelessness.”
Detective Langford began noticing homeless Veterans while a member of the CPS Mountain Bike Unit. As he identified homeless Veterans, he started a list and worked with Veterans Affairs Canada to develop a streamlined process to connect homeless Veterans with caseworkers. He recruited other police officers to help and began more systematic outreach efforts. He advertised meeting times and locations on posters downtown and in homeless shelters where homeless Veterans could meet with Veterans Affairs Canada, the Legion, the Operational Stress Injury Clinic, CPS and other agencies. This quickly identified more than 30 additional Veterans on the street.
He approached the Calgary Homeless Foundation with his list of homeless Veterans to advocate for assistance. In 2011, as a direct result of his advocacy work, the Calgary Homeless Foundation purchased a 16-unit condominium called the Madison as a permanent supportive housing structure for homeless Veterans with 24/7 on-site support. He has continued to support the Madison through furniture and household item donation campaigns, large fundraisers, and a Christmas Stocking Campaign.
In 2015, he reached out to the Canadian Police Knowledge Network and Veterans Affairs Canada for funding to create “Back in Step,” an instructional video on Veteran homelessness for first responders. Released in 2016, the video is seen by all frontline CPS officers and has circulated to police agencies across Canada.