Steve Avery, a veteran who was medically discharged in January 2019, is a big believer in adaptive sports as a means for healing both physical and mental health injuries sustained during service.  And his own journey is a great example of how this works.

Originally introduced to adaptive sports when a work colleague informed him of the Invictus Games, Steve started playing wheelchair basketball in October 2017 and hasn’t looked back. 

“Leading up to my discharge I didn’t know much about adaptive sports. I have an active 8-year-old daughter and would go to the playground and watch her play, without really being able to engage.  My life was not very enjoyable, and I pretty much spent a lot of my time sitting on the couch.”

Steve has become a strong advocate for The Road Home, a program that provides a framework for the delivery of wellbeing services to our veterans and emergency service personnel.  Invacare is proud to work alongside The Road Home to help more of our veterans procure the equipment they need to partake in adaptive sports. 

The recent Invacare 2019 Aussie Rules National Carnival offered a perfect opportunity to put this partnership to work.

“Invacare recently helped out The Road Home with 4 brand spanking new Top End Wheelchairs at very close to cost price. The staff at Invacare made it very clear throughout the tournament, how proud they are of each and every serviceman and woman and have made a pledge to assist any veteran wanting to get into adaptive sports by adding up to $1000 discount on a new chair ordered direct through Invacare.”

The Invacare 2019 Aussie Rules National Carnival was a great example of how adaptive sports are continuing to grow and are becoming more mainstream, especially in the Defence space. “Out of the 5 teams, 2 of them were current serving defence members who are going through rehabilitation and 1 was ex-serving members from RSL Active in Victoria. “

The relationship that Invacare has with The Road Home is an important one, and Steve can clearly see how it directly impacts veterans. “It really showed me how important collaboration is when it comes to assisting veterans. Between the 3 defence related teams, at least 75% of the people had never played before but have now come out knowing they have a strong support network to help them achieve. It made me very proud to be part of The Road Home and I was able to speak so passionately about the journey they have helped me start through adaptive sport.”

Steve said that the main point he wanted to make in regards to adaptive sports is that they can provide veterans with a sense of purpose and achievement in life. “It’s something they can do together, has helped both my mental and physical injuries, and definitely helps me get through the day. And Invacare has made a real commitment to assisting veterans with regards to access to adaptive sports”