The new Warrnambool RSL well-being coordinator started at the sub-branch this week and is ready to engage with the region's veteran community and better understand their needs.

"Every veteran, no matter what age or circumstance, needs to know they will be supported if or when they require our support," she said.

"Current and ex-service personnel offered to give up everything for us and I think it's a small task to want to give something back to them and to remember those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

"The RSL exists to support veterans and their families of every age and from every era. Anyone who has pulled on the uniform in defence of freedom is a veteran. Everyone from WW1 through to National Service men and women, peacekeepers and reservists, the RSL is here to provide support for all of them and their families."

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Ms O'Donovan said veterans' needs had changed over the years and it was important to be proactive in the way support was provided.

"We need to be able to provide so much more than the traditional support services that we know," she said.

"What was required by veterans at the end of WW1 and WW2 is vastly different to what was required by Vietnam veterans and peace keepers. Now the support required is different again for current serving men and women and the RSL is well placed to support them into the future."

Ms O'Donovan said contemporary programs already in place such as RSL Active provided much needed peer support in fun group settings.

She said the Employment Plus program supported veterans and their families transitioning from military life to civilian life with practical employment advice and financial counselling services.

"It's a work in progress and it's not going to happen overnight but we are here and we are ready and waiting to help," she said.

Ms O'Donovan said when she saw Warrnambool RSL was searching for a well-being coordinator, she knew it was meant to be.

The former Melbourne woman has for years been passionate about serving those who served our country - and as she has a house just outside Warrnambool waiting for her retirement it was an easy decision to make.

She said when she saw the job advertised, she decided to fast forward her plans for a sea change, moving to Warrnambool last Saturday.

"It feels like we've just walked into a great big hug," she said.

"Warrnambool is just lovely. It's wonderful here because you've got such a tight community and I think it's just built into the Warrnambool psyche that you make people feel welcome. It's been a very, very easy transition."

Ms O'Donovan said it was an "absolute pleasure working with people who just love what they do".

"The passion to help others that is evident here at Warrnambool RSL and also at the smaller traditional RSLs in outlying towns around the area like Hamilton, Port Fairy and Terang to name a few, is just incredible. Our volunteers are the life and soul of the RSL and we would not be where we are today without them," she said.

Ms O'Donovan said she was also very impressed by the business community which she said "rigorously support" the Warrnambool RSL and its programs.

"The ripple effect from this is our veterans and their families significantly contribute back to the community donating their time to initiatives such as organization which promote positive mental heath as well as tree planting along the rail trail," she said.

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