Praise for RSL Active program

Warragul RSL received high praise, and some good news when state Veterans Minister Shaun Leane visited its clubrooms last week.

Mr Leane said his visit was to learn about programs the RSL sub-branch was conducting as part of RSL Active to improve the health and wellbeing of its members and families.

The good news he delivered was the state government was continuing the financial support it began in 2016 to RSL Victoria to help meet the cost of the activities.

It is not a huge amount of money but a great investment which RSL clubs do a lot with to improve physical and mental health, Mr Leane said.

Warragul president Ben Vahland, who was joined by a number of members that take part in the local programs to chat with Mr Leane during his visit, said RSL Active at Warragul was available for current and former members of the defence forces and first responders including police, ambulance officers, doctors, nurses and members of the Country Fire Authority and State Emergency Service as well as their families.

RSL Victoria’s head of RSL Active Steve Gilmour and some of his colleagues also travelled from Melbourne to attend.

The program kicked off in Warragul a number of years ago with weekly fitness and mateship sessions at a local gymnasium and has since expanded to include walking, scale model making and several courses.

Funding from the state government helps meet some of the costs.

Mr Leane described his visit during National Veterans Health Week to meet a number of people that benefit from the programs as a privilege and commended Warragul RSL on what it had done and was continuing to do.

“It is fantastic in breaking down many people’s isolation as well as improving their fitness but you (the RSL sub-branch) will probably never know what it achieves for individual people”.

Mr Leane said while veterans’ welfare was a federal government responsibility the state had roles to play in helping improve health and wellbeing.

Mr Vahland said Warragul was one of the most active RSL sub-branches in the state with RSL Active.

The programs have “brought a number of people out of the cold” and increased membership that had resulted in the sub-branch being able to do more.

State Veterans Minister Shaun Leane (front 3rd from left) congratulates Warragul RSL president Ben Vahland on the success of its RSL Active program during a visit to Warragul last week where he also met and chatted with a number of people involved in the program. (back) Chris Berg, Robert Green, Brett Kerston and Mary Sgarbossa, (front) Mark Buttner, Mr Vahland, head of RSL Active Victoria’s Steve Gilmour, Mike Latimer, Kylie Sage, Merelyn McCarthy and Faye McLachlan.