We're ready to help all veterans says Marton man Tim Wilson

Marton artist and military veteran Tim Wilson is one of the founders of veteran support trust No Duff.

Minister for Veterans Ron Mark has announced that support group No Duff Charitable Trust will receive a first time grant of $20,000.

The grant comes alongside $250,000 to the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association.

"The first-time grant to No Duff will give a boost to the excellent work they do as a 'first responder' for contemporary veterans in critical need," he said.

No Duff is a term used by military personnel to indicate an emergency situation and the Trust came together when a group of veterans learned that one of their number was in trouble.

A former soldier experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Injury was living under a tarpaulin in an Auckland park and police had said they were too busy to help.

Veterans alerted each other through their social media networks and the man received the support he needed from those who understood him best.

No Duff became a non government organisation (NGO) in February 2016 and they have now responded to 156 calls from veterans needing support.

Founding member Tim Wilson of Marton is an artist as well as a veteran of both the air force and the army.

In May this year, he collaborated with other veterans who are also artists to exhibit his work in Soldiers Five at Bowen House in Wellington.

The exhibition raised awareness of veteran experiences and funds to support No Duff.

Mr Wilson is currently working in New Guinea but No Duff president Aaron Wood said he will no doubt be pleased to learn about the government assistance.

Mr Wood said the support is appreciated although he said the Minister's use of the word "contemporary" is slightly misleading.

"We are here to assist all veterans who ask for our help," he said.

"People aged 60 and over made up 17 per cent of veterans we have assisted."

No Duff now have over 350 volunteers who are able to offer specialist support.

"I'm a former army staff sergeant so I can offer support to an army veteran but I might not be able to assist an air force veteran.

"We aim to get someone to a veteran's side within two hours of their call for help.

"No-one gets paid but the $20,000 grant will be really useful to pay for travel because our volunteers sometimes have to cover long distances to offer support."

Mr Wood said No Duff is affiliated to Overwatch Australia, a group that provides support to Australian veterans as well as a number of New Zealanders.

"They support some of our vets living there and we support Australian vets living in New Zealand.

" We are keeping the Anzac spirit alive."

To learn more about No Duff, visit the website noduff.org or the No Duff Charitable Trust Facebook page.