Providing help to Signallers (serving and retired) and their dependents when in need, hardship or distress.
Star & Garter provide loving, compassionate care for veterans and their partners, who live with disability or dementia, in three state-of-the-art Homes. Services also include Day Care, Lunch Clubs and a Telephone Friendship Service.
High quality accommodation for long and short term care.
WRVS Services Welfare delivers an independent and confidential welfare support service, which is responsive to the needs of single and unaccompanied service personnel at military establishments in the UK and abroad.
WRVS is part of the Royal Voluntary Service.
• Centres at designated MoD establishments where service personnel can relax and meet with friends in an alcohol free environment.
• An area where service personnel can speak to trained welfare professionals.
We hold two sessions per month (with ad hoc trips, meals out, education etc) and we are committed to supporting veterans and their families within the Kirklees rural community. We aim to provide social, services and sanctuary for military veterans. We provide indoor and outdoor projects, education with speakers on all manner of subjects from medical healthcare, (our local GPs were involved in setting these hubs up), history of the area, learning to do things, for example, cookery, wood whittling, wreath making, Jesmonite models. Our aim is to integrate some of our more vulnerable veterans back into society, with trips out, with doing some woodwork for a local school, art work. We have found that some of our veterans suffering with combat related PTSD are enjoying being with like-minded veterans and the more vulnerable are being looked after and are speaking freely with others about their trauma which is helping them tremendously. We have done questionnaires which shows we have got this right, with one veteran saying “we had saved his life”.
We are fully supported by our local GPs and if we have a veteran we are worried about we can call that persons GP. (The GPs will then contact that veteran for a medicines review so that they can speak to the veteran and ascertain whether or not they need help). All our Trustees have had first aid training, MH training and some counselling (although we do not counsel our veterans).
We have regular talks from GPs, OTs, Physiotherapists, Advanced Nurse Practitioners and the aim is to ensure that our veterans do not miss out on their medical checks as the hubs were set up to address health inequalities in the rural areas of Huddersfield and veterans were seen to be the ones missing out.
We believe that whilst doing crafts etc our veterans are bonding with their colleagues and this is the time when they all get to speak about their ‘war experiences’. There is lots of banter and laughs.
We have veterans who are physically disabled as well as those with mental health problems, CPTSD, anxiety, depression, loneliness and some who are just there for the banter, talks and crafting sessions. Veterans are making new friends and with that comes the “If you need someone to go with you, Ill go with you” attitude, offering lifts and offering help with things that the more disabled veterans cannot do.
We liaise with the RBL, SSAFA if any of our veterans need help and support. We also liaise with the local council re: housing and in the past have used H4H for various activities.
The local social prescribers at our GP practices refer into us as do Walking with the Wounded and H4H.
Children’s charity supporting Royal or Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleet families in severe financial hardship.
The family support scheme provides child welfare grants, clothing and emergency grants.
Caravans available for a week’s holiday.
Emotional support and links to other support organisations.
Sharks Community Trust is the charitable arm of Sale Sharks, the North West’s only Premiership Rugby club. The charity was established in 2012 to help use rugby and sport for the wider community benefit, drawing on the core values of rugby, which are teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship, to deliver a range of community engagement programmes.
The use of rugby and sport has been used for many years to engage young people, and it is this interest that Sharks Community Trust seeks to draw upon. This includes delivering numeracy programmes in the classroom, linking sport with encouraging healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle, and delivering education particularly to young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET). The Trust also has a comprehensive disability and inclusion programme, ‘In The Pack’ delivering a mixture of multi-sports and wheelchair sports to people with special and additional needs along with a successful ex-service personnel programme ‘Sharks Forces’ that supports veterans and their families with the transition from service to civilian with housing, employment and social and physical activity support.
We offer services and activities to improve the physical health, mental health and employability skills of ex-service personnel and their families. We give them a visibility within their community delivering the project at community venues. Delivering drop-in social hubs to develop and maintain relationships with individuals who are sceptical and nervous at engaging with civilian society. Enhancing personal and social skills such as communication skills and confidence along with increasing employability skills and their well-being. We also work with the veteran’s family, introducing an intergenerational approach. We use our relationship with community rugby clubs across the North West to create a social hub for the whole community. We use gym and sport facilities based within clubs and use the clubhouse to host themed workshops. We also work closely with rugby clubs to identify volunteering opportunities as part of the programme. We create and offer a wide range of sporting activities for Veterans who are blind or visually impaired, there is a huge gap in the local offering from other key stakeholders in regards to physical activities suitable for Veterans with additional needs.
Afghanistan support
In light of recent events in Afghanistan, please find information and support resources here