News and Events – Plympton Veterans Centre

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March 2020. Successful KI Veterans Outreach, presentation at the RSL and several home visits were well received.

April 2020. When you are looking for help with making a claim with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, you need to make sure that the advocate you choose is qualified and is giving you the right advice. A list of all the centres in South Australia with qualified advocates is available from our Facebook page. This list has been developed by the Plympton Veterans’ Centre at the request of the SA Consortium of Ex-Service Organisations.

Plympton Veterans Centre Advocates will be visiting country areas of SA in 2019
For details see below;

PVC Lower South East Outreach Visit

PVC Upper South East Outreach Visit

PVC Mid North Outreach Visit

PVC Port Augusta Outreach Visit

PVC Mannum Outreach Visit (1)

PVC Tailem Bend outreach visit

On the 2nd of September 2020, Nathan Klinge, the CEO of RSL Care SA visited the Plympton Veterans Centre to provide support and assistance with a generous financial donation of $5,000 on behalf of RSL Care SA. The donation also recognised the voluntary work that our Senior Wellbeing Advocate Tich Tyson undertook using his skills as a former RACT Transport Supervisor to conduct a safe driving course and driver performance evaluations for RSL Care SA staff and volunteers driving their recently purchased bus.
Thanks to Nathan and his team at RSL Care SA for your generous donation and thanks to Tich for the extraordinary effort you put in supporting veterans and their families. Also great to have Laurie Mann from our Mt Gambier office visiting our Centre with his assistance dog and Beachy President of the Adelaide Sub Branch of the MBMMC and a strong supporter of the Centre with us for the presentation.

August 2020; Dean Watson, Past President and Trustee of the Navy League of Australia (SA Division) handing over a $10,000 cheque as a donation to Bill Hignett for the Plympton Veterans Centre. Also in the photo Diana Hill and Wendy Hill.
A very generous and unexpected donation which Dean says will help with our, “continuation of the vital services provided to ADF veterans and their families in South Australia.”
Thank you to Deane & Diana & members of the Navy League of Australia (SA Division) for your support.

Visit by the Director Of Veterans SA, Ms Catherine Walsh, to the PVC. Great opportunity for Catherine to meet our Tuesday team and discuss how we can work together to provide better services to SA veterans and their families.

Peter (Pedro) Petersen handing over a cheque for $2000.00 on behalf of Beachvale Sub Section, Naval Association SA to Bill Higgnett.
On behalf of PVC and the veterans and their families we support thank you Peter and members of Beachvale Sub Section for your generous donation.

PVC’s newly accredited Wellbeing Advocate Alex Glover added his ATDP Statement of Attainment and Certificate of authority to represent the VVF SA as an Advocate to our wall of knowledge.

REPAT VETERANS WELLBEING CENTRE UPDATE.
On Friday 31 July, we received an email from the Director of Health Services Programs in SA Health asking if we are interested in being Anchor Tenants in the new Veteran Wellbeing Centre in the Repat Health Precinct. If we are interested, we have to reply by 28 August 2020. We have already advised SA Health we are interested and will reply with the information requested.
Anchor tenants at the Centre is a strategy to draw regular visitors, and create a critical threshold of veterans and their families utilising the Centre and with the Plympton Veterans Centre being prepared to staff our Advocacy Centre in the Veteran Wellbeing Centre with volunteer Advocates and ASOs for 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, we believe we can offer this.

Another development in the establishment of the Veteran Wellbeing Centre at the Repat has been the formation of the Veteran Wellbeing Centre Steering Committee to provide governance and direction over the building and operation of the Centre. The Committee comprises a number of government members from SA Health and Veterans SA, an Open Arms member, an ESO representative and the CEO of RSL SA. Bill Hignett who is our Admin Manager is also on the Committee. The Chair s Geoff Tattersall who is also the Chair of the Veterans Health Advisory Council.
The Steering Committee held its first meeting on 16 July 2020 and endorsed the Wellbeing Concept and Fit Out Plan and noted that a contractor had been appointed and will commence work on the plan this month. The other major item on the agenda was the development of the Operational Service Model for the Centre which has been sent out to ESOs for information and consultation. This 25 page document was sent out by email on 31 July 2020.
The next meeting of the Steering Committee is proposed for 20 August 2020.

The Semaphore & Port Adelaide RSL President, Colin Johns presents the cheque of $2,500.00 to the Plympton Veterans Centre.
Photo from left to right: Bill Hignett, Colin Johns & Jim Leslie.

Dwayne Bugg making a $700.00 donation to Wendy Hill, PVC.

Buggy raised the money from the sale of Army Apprentices Lapel pins.

All staff at PVC appreciate donations made by Veterans to support the Veterans’ community.

PVC would like to thank Mr Geoffrey Mitchell for his extremely generous donation of $1000.00.

Mr Mitchell had been trying for several years to get a condition accepted and was very happy to finally have DVA accept it.

Afghanistan veteran Kane Hall with Gracie his new Operation K9 dog thanks to Royal Society for the Blind (RSB) and RSL South Australia. Kane is a valued member of RSL Care SA and also assists the Plympton Veterans Centre. Best Wishes Gracie and Kane, may you have many years together.