Too many war veterans are homeless and more accommodation is needed, Springwood Tri-Services RSL Sub Branch president Jamie McLellan says.
In the lead up to Remembrance Day commemorations on Wednesday 11 November, Mr McLellan said the number of homeless veterans was increasing, with the Springwood RSL’s temporary accommodation for veterans almost at full capacity.
“There shouldn’t be one homeless veteran, as far as I’m concerned. I’m very passionate about that,” Mr McLellan said.
“Out of a possible 138 weeks of accommodation, we had 133 weeks of homeless veterans in the house,” Mr McLellan said.
“It’s getting worse. There’s more and more homeless veterans in the country.”
Mr McLellan, who served in the Royal Australian Air Force, said he hoped to secure a second lodging for veterans.
He said many veterans were too proud to ask for help.
“We are so proud of what we have done, serving our country. We’re too proud to put our hand out for help,” he said.
“We’ve only scratched the surface. If we went out and seriously looked, we would be overwhelmed with homeless veterans.
“We have to convince them that we’re here to help them. We’re not here to harm them or drag them through the mud.”
Mr McLellan said he was proud to continue to help local veterans out in any way, shape or form to the best of his abilities.
“To me, the meaning of Anzac is mateship, friendship, camaraderie, looking after each other, respect for you and your fellow man,” he said.
“If you use those things through your life, you will be a much better person for it.”
Mr McLelland said RSL members visited Woodridge State School and Harris Fields State School to share the meaning of Remembrance Day and the Draw to Remember program, where volunteers returned to see the student’s drawings on concrete in response to what they learnt.
Mr McLellan believes schools should do more to raise awareness of the sacrifices veterans have made in service to Australia.
“We try and get the message across as much as we can,” he said.
“[Remembrance Day] is not only about all the lives lost from the first world war. It’s about all the lives that have been lost in defence of our freedoms,” Mr McLellan said.
“That includes those who served in the second world war, Korea, Malaya, Borneo, Vietnam, the Middle East and on peacekeeping missions.”
The Springwood Tri-Services RSL Sub Branch will hold its annual Remembrance Day service at Springwood Park on Cinderella Drive from 10.45am on Wednesday 11 November, with one minute’s silence at 11am to mark the moment in 1918 when WWI hostilities ended.
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