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Veterans’ Health Week 2022 and
Why It’s Important
Veterans’ Health Week is around the corner and since Classics for a Cause is a huge veteran supporter through our classic car giveaways, we thought it’d be the perfect opportunity to give you the rundown on Veterans’ Health Week and why it’s so important.
While it’s pretty obvious to us why supporting veterans is such a worthy cause, others may be completely in the dark as to why we chose to support veterans in the first place. We’ll explain all that here too.
In short, just keep reading, mate!
When is Veterans’ Health Week?
Veterans’ Health Week: 1-9 October 2022
Veterans’ Health Week is a government-run initiative that helps to raise awareness of health issues facing Australian veterans.
Each year, there is a new focus for the initiative and veterans’ organisations are encouraged to hold sponsored events for Veterans’ Health Week across the two weeks before and after the official dates.
In 2022, Veterans’ Health Week falls on the 1st through the 9th of October and is focused on “Eat Well” (Nutrition). Last year, in 2021, the theme was “Get Moving”, encouraging veterans to stay active and exercise and the year before, in 2020, the theme was “Social Connection”.
Eligible organisations are able to receive VHW funding to support them in their endeavours that work towards the Veterans’ Health Week goals for that year which is always to support the health and wellbeing of Aussie veterans.
Many organisations hold special VHW events such as cooking workshops, fitness classes, meet-ups, socials and much more all to raise awareness for all that veterans go through. It’s a bloody brilliant cause and, of course, we’re totally for it.
Check out the 2022 Veterans’ Health Week Federal Calendar to find events near you!
Why is Veterans’ Health Week important?
Veterans’ Health Week is an incredibly important initiative. After all, our veterans don’t get nearly enough support as it is and often carry so much weight on their shoulders from their time in the service. It means that caring for their health sometimes becomes the absolute last thing on their minds.
To us, Veterans’ Health Week is important for three main reasons:
- To raise awareness for veterans’ issues
- To give veterans an opportunity to speak out
- To allow civilians to give back and say thanks
Let’s dive deeper into some of these issues that VHW can help out with.
Raise awareness for veterans’ issues
When Veterans’ Health Week comes along, it definitely raises awareness about veterans’ issues. Since health encompasses such a wide range of topics, each year VHW focuses on a different potential issue.
However, it still raises awareness for all the things veterans go through that we might not often hear about.
For example, in talking about improving social connections for Australian veterans, VHW certainly brings up bigger issues such as veteran suicide which is a major problem in the Aussie vet community.
So, by bringing to light a specific health issue that veterans deal with on a daily basis, it can also shed light on heaps of other important issues around the well-being of our veterans.
Give veterans an opportunity to speak out about their struggles
Even for veterans themselves, it can be difficult to speak up about the issues they deal with. In fact, that’s part of the reason initiatives like VHW exist.
In the slog of day-to-day life, it’s easy to forget about the fact that serving in the military is bloody tough and when the world expects you just to get on with it after your military days are over, it can feel impossible to find the time or place to appropriately raise any concerns.
So, initiatives like Veterans’ Health Week give Aussie veterans a platform to say,
Hey mate… life’s really hard right now and I need some support. Let’s check out this VHW event to see if I can work my way through this rubbish.
Allow civilians to give back and say thanks
Finally, it gives us civilians a chance to give back to Australian veterans and to say thank you for their brave service. For most of us, we have no idea what it’s like to serve in the military.
From being in dangerous situations on the front lines to being away from family and friends during a long deployment, there are heaps of difficulties that veterans face every single day.
At the very least, they deserve our acknowledgement and our gratitude and Veteran’s Health Week is an amazing chance for us to do that.
With so many events happening around the country during VHW, it gives us civilians a prime opportunity to show up and show our appreciation. It’s the least we can do!
How Classics for a Cause Supports Australian Veterans
Classics for a Cause offers memberships and packages which allow you to get entries into our classic car giveaways. From there, we donate a portion of the proceeds to charities that support Australian Veterans.
But, since our founders aren’t veterans themselves, why would veterans be the cause we choose to support? Well here’s a little explanation about why we support veterans’ charities and how we go about it.
The Widespread Effects of Suicide
With R U OK Day becoming more and more of a national conversation each year, happening in early September, it’s clear that suicide, anxiety and depression are widespread issues in Australia and beyond.
Tom Bailey, one of our founders, unfortunately, has direct experience with the effects of suicide as his best mate and former business partner took his own life almost a decade ago.
Since then, he wanted to find a way to support others dealing with anxiety and depression and to help communities who struggle with suicide epidemics. The most prominent community he found that needs this type of support was the veteran community.
According to the 2021 Australian Defence Force Report, ex-serving males are 24% more likely to die by suicide than Australian males. This is clearly a major issue as service members are far more likely than civilians to take their own lives.
For this exact reason, Classics for a Cause decided that one of the best ways they could help with suicide prevention is to support veterans as directly as we could.
Charities We Support
At Classics for a Cause, we donate a portion of our proceeds to a range of charities that support Australian veterans. In light of Veterans’ Health Week, we’re even more inspired to give back to incredible causes and to continue supporting our hardworking vets.
The main veterans’ charities we support include:
- Heroes on the Homefront (HOTH)
- Survive to Thrive Nation
- PTSD Dogs Australia
- Young Veterans
- Veteran Mindfulness Australia
Heroes on the Homefront is based in South Australia and specialises in connecting Australian veterans with programs, development and training to help ease them back into civilian life by holding events and ensuring a safe space for vulnerable service members.
Survive to Thrive Nation is an 8-module online personal development program designed specifically for veterans to help them reach their full potential, especially in terms of mental health.
With 24-hour access to peers and mentor support, Survive to Thrive lets veterans know that they’re not alone.
PTSD Dogs Australia rescues, re-homes and trains dogs to support First Responders and Defence Force service members who suffer from PTSD. As the effects of PTSD on veterans are massive, PTSD Dogs Australia certainly does its part to support veterans in a huge way.
Young Veterans is a life enrichment organisation that connects Australian veterans through active and social events that helps young Aussie vets to think outside the box in terms of what they’re capable of in civilian life.
Veteran Mindfulness Australia is an online mindfulness platform made specifically for veterans and includes free meditation sessions, yoga classes, art therapy and theory lessons to help support the overall mental health of veterans in Australia.
While we’re always on the hunt for even more incredible Australian veterans charities to support, these have certainly been great places to start in supporting veterans, especially in terms of mental health and preventing veteran suicide.
Do you know a veterans charity in Australia that could use our support? Contact us today to let us know!
Now you know heaps of info about Veterans’ Health Week and why we’re so passionate about veteran suicide prevention and veterans’ overall health.
Want to get involved?
Sign up to our VIP Club and get entries into our classic car giveaways! A portion of our proceeds is donated to charities that support Australian veterans in an effort to raise awareness about veteran suicide and other important issues facing service members.
Save heaps on essential auto parts with our VIP club membership, which provides access to discounts from over 200 Auto retailers and services providers within Australia; as well as getting exclusive access to classic car giveaways.
