Mia

Mia’s dad gave a lot in service to our nation. For almost 10 years, he served in the Australian Army’s 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. As a Corporal, he trained new recruits to face the kind of challenges he encountered when he served on the frontline in East Timor.

Then tragically, when Mia was six, her beloved father took his life.

Can you imagine the pain and confusion of processing such grief at such a young age?

“After my father passed away, I struggled deeply with coming to terms with the fact that I lost him: dealing with the grief of losing him whilst not completely understanding why he was gone.” Mia remembers.

Mia, her younger sister Chloe, mother Sascha and their extended family continue to grieve the loss of this courageous veteran.

Sadly, Mia’s family is not alone in their grief. There are high rates of suicide among serving and ex-serving members of the Australian Defence Force. A recent report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reveals shocking statistics about the rate of suicide among veterans.¹

It has been described as a national crisis. And no wonder so many veterans’ families reach out to Legacy during these darkest of times.

Legacy has been part of Mia’s life since she lost her father. And for that, she is incredibly grateful.

Some of Mia’s fondest childhood memories are of attending Legacy Christmas parties and Legacy Youth Camps. She says she has made lifelong friends with other kids who have had similar experiences.

“I don’t know how to explain it, but we have a sibling bond,” she says. Mia remembers how fearful she was when she attended her first Legacy camp at age 10.

“I was frightened to leave my mum for a whole week and had anxiety about meeting new people,” she says.

“I was worried these people wouldn’t like me or think I was the weird girl for having a dead dad. When I came on this camp, I realised we were all the same: we all had a parent who had passed away.”

Mia says she has been particularly grateful for the support of volunteer Youth Leaders.

Remembering that first camp when she was 10, Mia gets a little emotional when she recalls the absolute relief she felt as she began to unburden her thoughts and talk through her confusion.

“Talking to Legacy’s Youth Leaders at camp about my story made me feel safe, comfortable, and less alone. I was able to talk about the feelings I had and not feel judged for how I felt as they understood my pain.”

As she got older, Mia paid it forward by becoming a Youth Leader herself and has attended many Legacy events for families and kids including the Legacy Youth Camp.

She loves mentoring the younger children and knows, first hand, how important it is for children like her to feel heard and supported. She also knows the day-to-day struggles many veterans’ families are facing.

Mia attended a Legacy Youth Camp earlier this year. “One thing I observed during camp is that cost-of-living pressures are hitting many Legacy families particularly hard,” Mia said.

“While the younger children may not know it, it is often Legacy that is helping to put food on their table by supplying food vouchers to their parents or keeping their electricity and Wi-Fi going by helping out with emergency payment of bills.”

Mia, now in her second year of Uni and studying to be a teacher, was recently named as Legacy’s 2024 Youth Ambassador. Mia’s younger sister Chloe, also volunteers her time at family events.

Legacy is passionate about supporting the education of veterans’ children through grants and scholarships and Mia, herself, has been a recipient of an education grant that helped pay her first year Uni fees and other expenses like textbooks.

But different families have different needs. With the cost of living continuing to rise, many Australians are doing it tough and, with more complex needs, many veterans’ families are doing it especially tough.

Your kind donation today will help Legacy to ease the pain for veterans’ families in many ways for many different families.

Whether it’s through providing emergency financial assistance, advocacy with pensions and other entitlements, education grants for veterans’ children or supporting families through the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or grief after losing their veteran loved one, Legacy will ensure that those who are truly in need have the tools to rebuild their lives.

1. Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2023) Serving and ex-serving Australian Defence Force members who have served since 1985: suicide monitoring 1997 to 2021.