With the recent closure of War Widows South Australia Inc., war widows in the area might have felt worried about losing the connections they had built over the years with other war widows in their community. The unique friendships and strong community that grows amongst war widows and veteran families who share similar experiences, are essential to their wellbeing. This is why we expanded our services to ensure war widows in SA continued to have a home.
Supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs, we delivered our first two wellbeing activities in Adelaide, followed by one in Townsville. Each of these activities has provided an opportunity to get to know the local community and test the need for our support.
Adelaide war widows walk and veteran family dinner
We held our first wellbeing activity on 27 March with war widows gathering for a morning walk through the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, followed by lunch. The war widows walk gave those in attendance an introduction to what our social connection and wellbeing activities are all about: moments for themselves and to connect with their peers.
Surrounded by gardens, glasshouses and flowers unique to this region, widows reconnected with familiar faces and welcomed new ones into the group. For many of the women, it was the first time they had seen one another since the closure of their association. The walk offered a long-awaited chance to pick up where they had left off. “Thank you for bringing us together again,” one widow shared with our team.
The war widows present also shared that they had never met in such a setting before, and that it was wonderful to connect outdoors with both familiar and new faces. The oldest war widow of the group was delighted to share her wisdom and knowledge of local flora, which led to others joining in, asking questions or sharing knowledge as well. This type of engagement from widows reminds us of why the Guild exists: to carry forward the vision of our founder Jessie Vasey CBE OBE, ensuring war widows across the nation continue to feel supported, connected and valued.
Later that evening, war widows and veteran families came together for a dinner. We were pleased to bring families of current and former Australian Defence Force (ADF) members, including war widows and mothers of veterans, together in person. The dinner gave families a chance to connect with others who share similar experiences and to meet our team for the first time.
This dinner marked an important step in extending our support to SA, offering a space for war widows and veteran families to meet and grow meaningful connections. It was also an important step for our team to meet local widows and families and better understand the support they need. Held at Pirate Life Brewing in Port Adelaide, the dinner was relaxed and the atmosphere welcoming and joyful; as one of our young attendee said, “I can see the happiness.”
The wellbeing team also organised two additional visits to Adelaide in May and delivered another dinner and further wellbeing activities to engage the community. Those visits are being happily welcomed by local widows and families, allowing us to connect with more of them and to reach those who missed out last time, because every widow and veteran family deserves this opportunity.
Townsville guided meditation
Further north, Townsville families had a relaxed, calm introduction to their very first wellbeing activity with guided meditation. Held at Inner Light Meditation Centre, the session offered gentle breathing exercises, meditation focused on mindfulness techniques, and peaceful music to relax.
With positive responses to our activities surrounding mindfulness in the past, we want to continue to host activities like these to create space for veteran families to slow down and take a moment for themselves.
With 11 family members in attendance, we were able to see firsthand the desire for community and connection with other defence and veteran families in the area, reminding us how important our wellbeing activities are.
In delivering this targeted support in both Adelaide and Townsville, we aimed to address unmet needs for war widows and veteran families, with the mission to strengthen the wellbeing of the broader veteran family community.
With the support of the Government Grants, and following attendees’ positive responses to our delivered activities, our team is busy planning additional activities outside of NSW and the ACT. We listen to our members’ feedback and aim to provide activities that cater to a variety of people, ages, and interests. If you are a widow or family member of a veteran, we encourage you to join us at our next free activity in person, and online. Find an activity you like on our wellbeing activity page.
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