Townsville RAAF vet Brendan Wethery’s new mission to help mates in need

After leaving behind a career of almost three decades in Defence, Brendan Wethery’s new mission is aimed solely at helping veterans and their families ‘find a way forward’.

• How soldiers helped Pacific Islands rebuild villages after horror storms
• SF soldier, humanitarian activist lead change in ADF workers’ rights

AFTER leaving behind a career of almost three decades in Defence, Brendan Wethery’s new mission is aimed solely at helping veterans and their families ‘find a way forward’.

The newly appointed Mates4Mates North Queensland Manager at the Townsville Family Recovery Centre said he was approaching the role with a clear agenda to broaden the organisation’s reach to help more people, highlighting that the transition from Defence to civilian life at a time of increased stress on family units.

Newly appointed Mates4Mates North Queensland Manager at the Townsville Family Recovery Centre, Brendan Wethary. Picture: Alix Sweeney

“I want to bring my 28 years of RAAF service and my experience of transitioning out of the defence force to Mates4Mates,” he said.

“I bring the benefit of knowing what it feels like and I want to share that with my staff as well because Defence is still absolutely evolving as it goes and trying to learn how we can do this more effectively.

“In my experience, what I found was even though I was transitioning out under my own terms there was still so much to try and grasp and it’s moving very fast once you make that decision or, especially for those that are impacted by service.

“Once the decision is being made for them It’s so difficult, and then on top of that, there are the families as well.”

MORE IN DEFENCE

ANZAC AWARDS: Students urged to remember nation’s war history

Lambie goes back to drawing board to keep pace in veteran’s fight

Mr Wethery said Mates4Mates had recently moved away from helping only those who are ‘injured, wounded or ill’ and wanted to put more focus on the families and support networks of veterans.

“It’s been broadened so that people understand that they can come here so that you don’t feel that you need to be “broken” so that there’s no stigma attached,” he said.

“My suggestion would be if you’re looking for us then you probably do need us.”

Mr Wethery said another goal of his was to also lower the age demographic of veterans walking through the door, given the majority of reported suicides were among men aged in their mid 30s and below.

Newly appointed Mates4Mates North Queensland Manager at the Townsville Family Recovery Centre, Brendan Wethary. Picture: Alix Sweeney

From 2001 to 2017, there were 419 suicides in serving, reserve and ex-serving Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel who served since 2001.

“I really do want to bring that down to the people that are sort of more in the age group where they have a young family or, or even quite commonly from my own experience, a teenage family where they’re saying, Okay, it’s time to get out so that my kids can go through school,” he said.

“For me, I believe, it goes back to reaching in early and saying ‘hey we’re here’, and talking to people before they transition out introducing the people that are currently serving to meet Mates4Mates so they know when they’re transitioning that we’re here.”

Originally published as Townsville RAAF vet Brendan Wethery’s new mission to help mates in need