Funding for veterans
The Baw Baw Veterans and Family Centre (BBVFC) in Warragul has been granted $54,400 to help recruit, retain and develop advocates to assist veterans.
Since November last year, six volunteers have been trained to become qualified advocates, who can provide assistance, support and advice to veterans with Department of Veterans' Affairs claims and entitlements.
BBVFC manager Ben Vahland said funding would help with the administration work resulting from the complex nature of work undertaken by advocates.
"The burden has been met by myself and my executive assistant, just managing the day-to-day running of the centre, so it's going to be a huge win for us to have this grant. It means that we can really focus in on the claims and not be distracted by the day-to-day running and inquiries that are coming in."
BBVFC hase already helped many veterans with their claims, and demand is growing month on month.
Advocates begin by ascertaining what the veterans' needs are.
This could range from extenuating physical or mental health needs, or they may be facing housing or financial issues.
"Having the base knowledge of what can and cannot be claimed, and what applications can be made, is the first piece of information, I guess," explained Mr Vahland.
"It's a very holistic approach, that first meeting. We try and ascertain what's going on for the veteran and then see where we can help. But certainly, the advocacy side of things when they come to see us is an important part, because they want to get treatment, or they want to seek some sort of compensation, if that's available."
The grant will allow advocates to focus completely on the veterans and their claims.
"There is often a bit of investigation that takes place, where we have to obtain medical records from defence, often, even medical records after they left defence, and things like that. To try and prove that certain injuries have happened during service and are related to their service."
The funding is for the next three years and Mr Vahland said this will give BBVFC good capacity to implement the position and show how important it was to the veteran community; and they hope the position will be funded beyond three years.
Member for Monash Mary Aldred welcomed the grant to help local veterans gain the free support services they need and deserve.
"Our veterans pull on the uniform to serve our nation.
"After their service ends, we need to provide a support network to assist in times of hardship and health challenges.
"Regularly meeting with our RSLs and veterans, I understand the vital role local advocates play to ensure veterans have that free and personalised support close to home, and this latest funding will further assist that work," she said.
