Niall Shepherd | RSA District Support Manager
Niall Shepherd | RSA District Support Manager
Niall Shepherd is one of nine RSA District Support Managers throughout the country. Niall is responsible for the Otago and Southland districts.
Based at Montecillo Veterans Home and Hospital in Dunedin, Niall's role as District Support Manager (DSM) is to develop, coordinate and manage the RSA Support Services network within the Otago and Southland districts.
One part of managing the network involves recruiting and training volunteers aiming to be advisors. There are currently 25 trained volunteer advisors in the Otago and Southland districts.
Niall also has his own Dunedin and Gore caseloads and is on call to assist veterans when necessary. This could be anything from "Where do I get my medals mounted?" to "I need money to get my teeth fixed" or "I want someone to do the lawns".
During the recent Dunedin floods, Niall was called to help an anxious older veteran who had been put into emergency accommodation after his flat flooded. "I was able to check that the appropriate agencies were engaged and ongoing support was in place for this veteran until permanent accommodation was found".
Niall often spends a lot of time researching different support and services from other agencies for veterans and how to access that help. He says doing this means he has answers for people seeking help.
"Maintaining relationships with other agencies is important too because I build knowledge about what each organisation does and what their criteria for assistance are. By visiting them, I put faces to names so that when the need arises, I know how to access that help. This works both ways, and now I often get referrals to help people with a service connection from agencies assisting them in other ways".
Where possible, Niall visits clients to get the best understanding of their issues.
"Transport for some people can be problematic, and they are usually more comfortable in their own homes".
At 16, Niall started as a Regular Force Cadet in Waiouru before moving to 3 Field Squadron RNZE. He was deployed to Moscow in 1979 and left NZDF after 6 years. For the next 33 years, he was a Policeman, including Police Operational Deployments to the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste.
Niall says that no two days are the same as a DSM, but that keeps it interesting, and it is very rewarding to be able to help veterans.
If you need to contact your local District Support Manager visit the RSA website.
Contact an RSA District Support Manager(external link)
