By Mikayla van Loon
Just months after forming, Mount Evelyn based Veterans for Fishing has grown exponentially, reaching people across the state.
But with more veterans, and first responders, on home soil needing help, the focus is on engaging them in a family fun day coming up on Sunday 19 March.
Founder and president of Veterans for Fishing Chris McAleer said by hosting an event at Lillydale Lake, there’s an opportunity for kids and parents to learn together while being introduced to the support services of Mount Evelyn RSL.
“We’re putting on our family day as a little bit of an introduction to those people who haven’t come to us yet and we can have a bit of fun, bring the kids in, that’s what we really want to do. We want it to be a family orientated group,” he said.
“We’re going to have our own members wandering around helping anybody out there who wants a hand and we’re there to have a chat with them if they just want to come down and have a chat.”
With so many returned service personnel from Afghanistan, Mount Evelyn RSL president Matt Crymble said it is important to offer an external activity to engage with younger veterans.
“We’re very excited to get some younger members into the club and an outdoor activity encourages that,” he said.
“We’re hoping to get some new members but ultimately, the most important thing is that we support this initiative because it’s about veterans’ health and we’re 100 per cent on board.”
Mr McAleer and Mr Crymble said there can often be a stigma around what an RSL club is or looks like, something that doesn’t always appeal to younger veterans.
“It’s great to let these young vets know and even me being a 49-year-old, I’m still considered a young veteran but I know a lot of younger blokes than me and they won’t step into an RSL because they have this in their head that they’re full of old blokes, sitting in a dusty corner,” Mr McAleer said.
“Now we can break that down and we can intermingle them with everyone and get them into the RSL because without the younger members coming in, RSL’s will die.”
Having experienced his own mental health challenges as a veteran, Mr McAleer knows the impact serving in the ADF can have on someone’s mind.
“There were 41 ADF service personnel that were killed in Afghanistan. There’s been at least four or four times who have taken their own lives. Mental health is the biggest threat to ex-serving ADF members.
“There’s all sorts of issues that can come from being a service member. Some people have real issues with the fact they were never deployed so they did 10 years of training on how to go to war, how to be a soldier and then we’re never given the opportunity and it eats them up.”
Although sporadic, Veterans for Fishing usually gets out on the water every second week, with Mr McAleer prioritising fishing days as much as possible.
Fishing is the main form of help, promoting mindfulness, but the underlying service has been supporting people in finding financial or medical help they didn’t know they could access.
“It’s not necessarily just the fishing. We’re happy to meet with guys and just have a coffee,” Mr McAleer said.
As people catch on around the state, Mr McAleer said it has garnered interest as far as Phillip Island, Gippsland and Horsham.
“We’re creating a community. Veterans are great at looking out for other veterans. You have something in common, there is that unseen bond you don’t have to have served with each other.”
Eventually Veterans for Fishing would love to see this initiative go statewide to support veterans and their families at all ages.
With a donation of $5000 from the Mount Evelyn Community Bank, as well as community fundraising by Amanda Barkway at the David Road Christmas Lights display, Veterans for Fishing has been able to expand its offering of equipment.
“We went and brought fishing rods for those veterans that don’t have them and a lot don’t. So we can lend stuff out now,” Mr McAleer.
Coming on board as a sponsor was really a no brainer for Community Bank chairman John Stroud.
“We thought it was great for community wellbeing and now that we’ve seen it’s been very successful, we’re very pleased we’ve been able to help and long term we want to be able to support our vets,” he said.
“It just makes the community a better place to live. These guys are doing work out front but we’re able to provide funding that makes those things happen.”
The Veterans for Fishing family day will begin at 10am, with a sausage sizzle, fishing advice and a casting competition.
