APRIL 2005

Welfare

I feel sure that all of you will know that the money collected on Poppy Day is used for the welfare and well being of veterans. That doesn’t just mean those Returned Men and Women who are members of the RSA. It does mean that any New Zealand veteran and his wife, widow or partner can look to the RSA for some welfare assistance when it is needed. I will talk about British and Commonwealth veterans later.

In some areas, where the local RSAs have made changes, Service members and their wives, widows and partners can also receive necessary assistance from Poppy Day and other RSA welfare funds – in particular from gambling machine profits.

Associate members can also request assistance when they have a need, but of course, that assistance cannot be obtained from the Poppy Day Fund. Ask your RSA Welfare Officer if there is any help locally, or from RNZRSA.

What does the RNZRSA do in relation to welfare? RNZRSA receives applications for assistance from all around the country, and very occasionally from overseas. The applications normally come through a local Association and can range from acupuncture at $35.00 per course to a contribution for a car for a handicapped veteran with a handicapped daughter, in the region of $5,000.00. The Trustees consider cases for all sorts of needs, such as hearing aids that are not paid for by War Pension Services or ACC, dentures, spectacles, cataract surgery, insulin pump, water bore, roofing material, and motorised mobility scooters. This list is not exhaustive

It would be rare for the RNZRSA Welfare Trustees to provide all the money requested. The Trustees expect that, unless the need is a dire emergency and the applicant has no funds whatsoever, the applicant and the local RSA will each be able to put up some money. For some people there are other trust funds available, such as the Charles & Ella Elgar Trust, or the Provincial Patriotic Fund (some still have funds left) or local trusts only available within a particular geographic area.

British and Commonwealth Assistance

Many of us, including myself, served in the Forces of other Commonwealth countries. With the help of the local RSA Welfare Officer, those of you who served in the British, Australian, Canadian, Indian etc Armed Forces, are able to ask for needed assistance through the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League. RCEL, as it is known, is able to access regimental and naval benevolent funds to assist ex-pats.

If you were in the Royal Air Force, then the RAF Benevolent Fund can probably assist you. Again you should approach your RSA Welfare Officer for help with completing this form.

For every trust fund there is an application form, and they are all different, but they are all needed to show that there is both a physical and a financial need for a particular item or service. There are those people who say that the RSAs should just hand out all the money they have to the older veterans and let the new ones collect their own funds, but there are many veterans in New Zealand who don’t actually need help, and I believe that those people would turn around and say that there must be someone else who deserves this money more then I do.

The RSA motto is “People helping People” lets make sure we keep it that way, by watching out for our family, friends and neighbours and ensuring that if they are eligible for RSA help either at the local or national level they are able to make that request.