Allan De Genova hands me a small yet heavy enamelled medallion.
The challenge coin feels substantial, and the longer I hold it and learn what it represents, the heavier it becomes.
De Genova is the President of the Honour House Society, a nonprofit organization based in British Columbia that provides free support and lodging for Canadian Armed Forces personnel, veterans, emergency service personnel, and first responders who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or recovering from physical injuries. As people who dedicate their lives to showing up for their country and communities, De Genova says he’s saddened that so few organizations show up for them, which is why his organization exists. He has dedicated himself to ensuring that these heroes in uniform and their families have the mental health support and housing they need.
“When someone receives a challenge coin, it’s recognizing that individual, who really cares and has unconditionally been there,” he says. “This individual is caring, giving, and genuine in what they do.”
The challenge coin features Honour House’s logo, but De Genova seems like he’s describing himself. While battling leukemia last year, he worked tirelessly to keep the expansive Honour Ranch facility running. Based in Ashcroft, B.C., it provides a safe space for people in uniform to retreat in times of personal crisis or injury and to get individualized mental health care. It’s a place to go when they have nowhere else to turn, empowering them to be “better equipped to navigate the often debilitating emotional and physical stresses of selfless commitment to service,” according to the organization’s website.
“I had to fight hard to keep her going. I took the heaviest treatment I could take to keep her going,” De Genova says, adding he was often putting in 10-hour days during his treatment, which was hard on himself and his family.
The Honour House Society is one of six recipients of the 2023 Defender Service Awards, a donation of US$25,000, and a brand-new customized Land Rover Defender 130, which will be put to work around the ranch and used to pick up veterans and first responders in crisis. The Defender will also be used to tour the country to help raise even more awareness and funding so De Genova can get closer to his goal of opening an Honour Ranch in every province.
“We’re going to save hundreds and hundreds of lives,” De Genova says, looking at his new Defender.
Even with the saintly work he’s doing selflessly trying to give back to his community, he still doesn’t think he deserves any of this. The coin suddenly feels like an anvil in my hand.
“These people give unconditionally,” he tells me, fighting back tears. “I felt so guilty that we won when the others were so deserving.”
This guilt is something De Genova carries, but combined with his selfless nature, it drives him forward.
He tells me about his inspiration for building Honour Ranch. Mst. Cpl. Joseph Allina was stationed in Afghanistan and returned in 2016 from being on the front lines of battle with severe PTSD and recovering from physical injuries.
“Joe tried very hard to get better,” De Genova says, but it was clear he was struggling. The ranch was nascent, and some red tape caused some unforeseen delays.
“There is not a one-size-fits-all fix for our men and women in uniform,” he says. “It takes individual, different things. [Joe] just needed that time away, a place to hang out.”
He adds that personalized therapy and a sense of purpose working on the ranch might have helped Allina, but it was too late. He died by suicide in July 2018 before Honour Ranch got off the ground, the day before what would have been his 36th birthday.
“That’s when I realized I let Joe down,” De Genova says. “I feel very guilty about that.”
Unfortunately, there are too many people like Allina, but De Genova credits his friend for what will help others like him.
“He’s my inspiration – the ranch is up and running,” he says.
A 2022 report on suicide mortality in the Canadian Armed Forces says that from 2012 to 2022, there were 143 reported deaths – 130 men and 13 women. This study only considered people in active service and not veterans or other groups that Honour House serves. A 2019 federal report noted that “Over the entire 39-year observation period, the risk of suicide for both male and female veterans was observed to be consistently higher than in the Canadian general population.”
At a ceremony honouring the six Defender Service Award winners and their contributions to their communities the day before they received their new Land Rover Defender 130s, De Genova is the first to clap when each non-profit stands before the room to tell their story. He claps with thunderous enthusiasm and is the last one to stop clapping when the presenters sit down.
“I want them to know I’m there unconditionally to make sure they’re OK and their families are OK,” De Genova says. “They’re out on that front line giving everything they’ve got, and then they have to go home. Sometimes they don’t come home. So I got to make it better for them because they give up so much for us.”
What are the Defender Service Awards?
Born during the pandemic as a way to honour frontline workers and their selfless contributions to their communities, the Defender Service Awards are now in its third year. Each year, nonprofits across Canada and the United States apply for an award in one of six categories: animal welfare; outdoor accessibility and education; community services; search, rescue, and emergency support services; veteran and civil servant outreach. An additional Defender Service Honoree award is also given.
If you know a charity making an impact in their community, let them know about the Defender Service Awards so they can apply for this year’s program.
