It was a special scene at the Southwest Quilters Guild quilt show on Saturday as 17 veterans received quilts through a program called Quilts of Valour.

Quilts of Valour is an organization that started back in 2006 in Edmonton and has grown into a national organization that has supplied over 10,000 quilts for comfort to injured veterans, both past and present.

Marcie Erick is the Swift Current representative for Quilts of Valour and said that the focus of the program is to show support and recognition for their service.

"The focus is to present quilts to ill and injured veterans and to wrap them in something that is called a quilted hug and to let them know that somebody is always there, somebody always listening, and somebody cares," she said. "We as a group of people that work on these quilts and are happy to do it because they should be recognized for everything they have done."

Erick said it was thrilling to see all the support they received.

"The amount of supporters that came out is fantastic," she said. "All the supporters from four different bike groups, at least four legions, there was the deputy mayor, and the cadets were here, their families, and the quilters that are here for the show. I couldn't be happier with how this went. It means a lot to me that so many people would come out and show their support for our veterans. They deserve it more than they get recognized for."

The veterans honoured featured two World War II veterans from Swift Current in Jerry Smith and Slim Thomas and veterans a part of four different biker gangs including from Redcliff, Alberta and one veteran from as far as Cold Lake, Alberta. The quilts they received were made mostly from local quilters apart of the Southwest Quilters Guild.

(Jerry Smith and Slim Thomas with their quilts)

Erick said that this year was special as PTSD was considered an injury, which is a part of why she joined the Quilts of Valour in the first place.

"PTSD was not something ever recognized as an injury," she said. "PTSD is, in fact, an injury, you just can't see it. It's just as much of an injury as anything else, and the number of veterans that live with PTSD is unbelievably high. They don't get the help that they need, and I can't do a lot on that part, but I can quilt, and I can wrap you up in it, and if that's what I can do then that's what I'm going to do. I know that it affects the person and their life, and it also affects their whole families as well, and I'm one of the families, so I know how it affects the families, so that's why I decided to do what I do, and I’m happy to it."

Erick said that it meant a lot to see PTSD recognized as an injury.

"It's something that has always been, you're not supposed to talk about it, you're not supposed to mention, you're not supposed to have it, but people do. It's a real thing," she said. "PTSD isn't something that people should shy away from talking about. It's definitely something that people need to talk about it, that's how people get help. All those guys have lived with it, they deal with it every day, and they're trying to help out all of the other veterans as well."

Erick added that many of veterans who received quilts this year have PTSD and receiving the quilts are therapeutic for them.