Ensuring veterans get the support they need

Lance Corporal (Rtd.) Marcus Amosa is on a mission to make sure veterans know where to go to ask for help if they need support.

Marcus spent just under six years in the army, with deployments to East Timor and Bamiyan, Afghanistan. Over his time he felt he made difference to people in those communities and served New Zealand well.

Marcus runs a business in Avondale, is chair of the Avondale Business Association and a Portage Licensing Trust trustee. In addition to these activities, he is also running for the Avondale RSA board. He wants to make sure other veterans have a place of belonging when they leave service.

“We know the transition out of the military can be jarring for some people, “ he said, “Part of this is the loss of identity. When you are in uniform people respond to you in a certain way and you get used to this.”

“I also found I had feelings of a loss of purpose. When you are in the army, everything is all laid out for you. When you leave the army and go back to society, you need to find your own mission.”

“I didn’t realise these things at the time when I left. It was only when I started thinking about them a lot more. I was lucky that I had a strong support system with friends and family.”

Marcus in service in Afghanistan

“A few of us got out of the army at the same time and we initially went to Australia and picked up work in similar conditions, working in mining and oil and gas rigs. We maintained the same connections with our friends. But I was lucky – a lot of guys don’t have the same support systems when they get out”.

“I don’t think that veterans who come out and are struggling think of going to the RSA or Veterans’ Affairs as first places to connect, they look elsewhere, or they just keep to themselves. I’d like to change that.”

He is keen for people to know that the RSA and Veterans’ Affairs and can be there for people, alongside the support from friends and family, and not just in times of crisis.

“A lot of veterans need that a sense of belonging. Some of that can be connecting with the right organisations and talking to people who can understand their situation, before it gets worse,” he said.