Albany RSL’s Young Warriors Program secures grant to help reach young veterans across Great Southern

A peer support program which aims to help a new generation of veterans living in the Great Southern has secured $7000 from the State Government.

Albany RSL’s Young Warriors program was launched about a year ago to engage with younger current and returning Australian Defence Force members.

ADF members face a heightened rate of post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide, with younger veterans less likely to maintain links with the ADF or support groups.

Offering a space to listen and chat, the Young Warriors programs is designed to connect young veterans with their peers who have lived experience of the complexities of life after service.

It also aims to help returning veterans find any professional services they might need to move forward.

Albany RSL secretary Steve Morrow — who served with the ADF for 25 years — said the Lotterywest grant would go towards promotional material for the program in a bid to spread the word far and wide.

“We don’t know who is out there, who our younger warriors are,” he said.

“The idea of Young Warriors is to open the doors to try and draw people in.

“It is not about joining the RSL — it is about helping, and unfortunately we don’t know who is out there.”

Mr Morrow said the group hoped to secure more funding to allow representatives to travel around the region, attend events and meet more young service people.

“The RSL doesn’t have the capacity to support new programs because we are under the water just getting what we already do funded, so there is no spare money for new initiatives,” he said.

“This is a very important initiative because the Vietnam era guys are fairly well looked after.

“It’s our up and coming warriors from Afghanistan, Rwanda, Somalia — those sorts of places, where they are going to start to bubble up and they are the ones we need to look out for.

“We haven’t been able to get the word out because we haven’t had the funding to do that, so this is a great start.”

Albany MP Rebecca Stephens said the unique nature of military service meant many veterans experienced mental health challenges above those of most Australians.

“This Lotterywest grant will help to provide much needed support to younger veterans in Albany at a time when community support and sharing like-minded experiences has never been so important,” she said.

To learn more about the Young Warriors program, visit the Albany RSL sub-branch from 9am to 11.30am on Mondays or call Mr Morrow on 0448 796 144.