The release of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide highlighted the critical need for support of the veteran community who are at risk. Our RSL LifeCare team is committed to providing relevant, meaningful and accessible solutions for veterans and their families, to identify issues early and help veterans to feel connected to their community. Our services are veteran-centric and recovery focused. We are able to offer these free support services to veterans thanks to the contributions and support from our partners, including RSL NSW. Read on for some of the highlights across our services as our team work every day to support veterans and their families.
During the last quarter (July 2024 to September 2024), we supported the veteran community by:
- Providing over $120,000 in financial assistance.Â
- Assisting 36 veterans experiencing homelessness, and providing 925Â nights of accommodation.Â
- Helping 252 veterans to lodge 784 DVA claims.Â
- Referring 28 veterans or partners into our employment program.
- Lodging 51 new VRB appeals, completing 67 Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mediation discussions and represented 12 full VRB Hearings.Â
- Â Guided 61 veterans through 7 horse handling and riding courses and logged 394 hours of volunteer activities at Spur Ranch.Â
Help us support more veterans – join us at the Poppy Ball
The Poppy Ball is back for 2024. Taking place on Saturday, 23 November at Victoria Barracks in Sydney, our annual fundraising gala helps us to raise vital funds to help deliver these free services. The 2023 Poppy Ball was a sell-out – and we expect 2024 to follow suit! So, if you’d like to join us for an evening of fun for a good cause, please grab your tickets at www.poppyball.org.au. Thank you to Raytheon Australia for joining us as Platinum Sponsor again this year – your support is greatly appreciated.
Sponsorship packages are also available, and it’s a great way to align your brand with a very worthwhile cause. Please email [email protected] for more information.
Housing – A step to safety and securityÂ
Providing safe transitional housing for veterans continues to be a key focus for our team, as homelessness continues to be an issue for our veterans.Â
We help veterans experiencing homelessness and provide veterans with stable transitional accommodation ranging from 12 weeks to 24 weeks.  Also, we help veterans in the community through our outreach supports linking them with wrap-around supports and assisting with linkages for supports for NDIS applications and My Aged Care. In addition, we facilitate free clinical psychology support through the Homes for Heroes program, to help veterans rehabilitate and realise what is important for them to live a positive life – be that reconnecting with family and friends, embarking on a new career or building new skills. Veterans who have exited from the program are now volunteering their time to help their fellow veterans.  We are truly glad that we can help foster a sense of camaraderie and pride for our veterans.
Homes for Heroes – raising awareness
Our Homes for Heroes team have also been back on the BBQ, hosting another Bunnings sausage sizzle in October at Narrabeen, to raise funds and awareness for the program. We’d like to extend a big thank you to everyone who popped by to enjoy a snag, and also to Bunnings Warehouse at Narrabeen for not only hosting the activity, but for donating a Water Feature for the Homes for Heroes site and also bags of goodies for veterans.Â
In August, Macquarie Asset Management visited our Homes for Heroes veterans and enjoyed a round of Ten Pin Bowls, a friendly lunch, and learnt about the incredible support that Homes for Heroes provides to the veteran residents. They also enjoyed a tour of the War Museum, thanks to our volunteer. This was an incredible opportunity to raise awareness of how we support veterans.
Our Veteran Housing Program Manager Anne Mathur attended the Inauguration of Sir Valston Hancock House in Perth. Anne also attended a Veterans Homeless Forum to hear about different Housing models and sharing best practices.
Wellbeing – helping veterans live well
The Wellbeing team continue to run monthly Professional Development sessions targeting the National network of Veteran centric and community service providers. If you wish to participate or present, contact our Intake Officer on 02 8088 0388 or email [email protected].
Our team will be strengthening its link with the Spur Ranch Equine Program, with one of our Veteran Support Coordinators (VSC) attending at Spur Ranch during some of the 2 and 4 day sessions. This will give veterans and family members who participate in the Spur Ranch program an opportunity to learn about other supports available to them.
To arrange an appointment with one of our VSC please contact our Intake Officer on 02 8088 0388 or email [email protected]. Â
Claims & Advocacy – leading the wayÂ
In addition to our regular activities of assisting veterans with claims to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) and appeals to the Veterans’ Review Board (VRB), the team is reviewing the recent recommendations from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. We are committed to the ongoing development of the Claims and Advocacy team with consideration into the recommendations to determine how we might be able to update and align our services to better support the evolving needs of veterans, particularly in regard to engaging with DVA.
Spur Ranch – Veterans riding to recoveryÂ
It’s been busy on the Ranch, with our Spur Ranch team leading 7 courses for veterans over the last three months.
The team also had a visit from the residents from our Narrabeen community and Smithfield RSL sub-Branch members. Both occasions were great ways to share information on how the program helps veterans connect and learn new skills. And of course, our chief furry foreman, Teddy, has been busy greeting all the visitors too.
We are exceptionally proud of our Spur Volunteers for being recognised by the Centre for Volunteering in NSW, for their efforts to support veterans in our community.
Veteran and Family Hubs – More locations, more accessÂ
The Central Coast Veteran & Family Hub, based in Wyong, officially opened on 13 September. More than 160 people attended the launch, and we look forward to working with and supporting the local veteran and family community.
For the Queanbeyan and ACT region, we are pleased to announce that we have secured a location for the new Veteran & Family Hub. The team are working to finalise the details. To stay up to date on the Queanbeyan development, please click here.
Check out our Veteran & Family Hub quarterly highlight for more information. Â
Our efforts are proudly supported by funds from RSL NSW and its sub-Branches. The services we provide would not be possible without the generous support of our donors. Â
If you or someone you know is in need of assistance, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.Â
To stay up to date on what the team is doing, please subscribe to our newsletter.
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