News

Tackling Veterans’ homelessness: A Call to Action – pledge your support

We asking you to pledge your support and to update you on some very positive developments on our quest to eliminate Veterans’ homelessness following our reception at the House of Lords in March.

The University of York research that we launched at the reception highlights how some ex-Service personnel slip through the net and end up homeless after leaving the Armed Forces. Evidence suggests that well over a thousand ex-service personnel each year require urgent support to find accommodation.

On the back of this research we developed a Call to Action to help tackle this important issue.

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The mental health and offending behaviour of ex-military personnel in the Criminal Justice System differs from offenders who have not served in the military

Ex-Service personnel in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) have distinct patterns of offending and mental health problems compared to offenders from a non-Service background, according to a Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) funded report.

Researchers at King’s College London looked at ex-Service personnel identified through the CJS as having social or mental health needs. They found ex-Service personnel were more likely to have Anxiety disorders (37% of veterans versus 13% non-veterans), which included PTSD, and Adjustment Disorder (8%vs6%*), as well as higher levels of co-occurring mental health problems than people with a non-Service background.

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Ex-Service personnel more likely to claim disability benefits long-term than unemployment benefits

Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) funded research released today, Tuesday 22nd May, reveals that while nearly a quarter of ex-Service personnel receive unemployment benefit at some point after leaving the Armed Forces, most usage occurs in the period immediately after leaving and is short-term, with only 1.5% continuing to claim the support two years after serving.

The ‘Veterans and benefits’ report, by Dr Howard Burdett of King’s College London (KCL), looks at the relationships between unemployment and disability benefit usage by UK ex-Service personnel, and between social demographics, Service characteristics, mental health (ie Common Mental Disorder (CMD), Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)) and alcohol misuse.

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New Grant Award: A systematic review and evidence map of research on the mental health needs of serving and ex-serving personnel

Forces in Mind Trust has awarded the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) £95,877 to conduct a systematic review of evidence of the mental health needs of serving and ex-Service personnel and their families since 2012.

The 9-month project will cover all three services, in the context of their transition to civilian life, and will include the perspectives of key stakeholders. Areas where the evidence is strong and where there are gaps in evidence will be recorded, and where evidence allows, recommendations will be made for the attention of policy makers and service providers, along with future areas on which to focus research.

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New FiMT Award: Swansea University awarded funds to better understand levels of gambling in ex-Service personnel

Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) has awarded Swansea University £279,503 to undertake the first ever UK survey to understand and explore the levels of gambling participation and attitudes to gambling in ex-Service personnel.

International evidence reveals a hidden gambling problem among ex-Service personnel but there is a lack of relevant data as to the nature and extent of gambling problems in UK Armed Forces Service-leavers.

This two-and-a-half-year study aims to identify how ex-Service personnel may be more vulnerable to developing issues with gambling than the wider population, and estimate any resultant healthcare costs by exploring the relationship between financial management and mental health problems.

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New Grant Award: FiMT awards funds to Barnardo’s to evaluate the needs of imprisoned ex-Service personnel and their families

Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) is delighted to announce an award of £91,707 to Barnardo’s to assess the needs of ex-Service personnel and their families who are serving, or have served, a custodial prison sentence.

Focusing on the Southwest and West Midlands areas, the project will access the connections that Barnardo’s have already developed in HMPs, the Criminal Justice System and Armed Forces charities.

The 18-month study will consist of interviews with ex-Service personnel and their children and families to ascertain the need, unmet need, the availability of support services and the impact of imprisonment.

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Armed Forces charities – just a click away!

A new website, developed by the Directory of Social Change (DSC), for exploring Armed Forces Charities in the UK goes live today, Thursday 26th April. The online directory has information, statistics, infographics and unique research on hundreds of charities serving thousands of people.

The Forces in Mind Trust funded website is a key resource for policy makers, researchers, media, governments and charities – or anyone with an interest in the UK’s Armed Forces charities.

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Cobseo Housing Cluster wins the FiMT Working Together Award at the Soldier on Awards

The Cobseo Housing Cluster received the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) Working Together Award at the Soldiering on Awards on Friday 20th April, at a special ceremony at Westminster Bridge Park Plaza.

The Cluster is a combination of 30 veterans’ housing organizations and charities formed to provide veteran specific housing and create an integrated veterans’ housing sector, with clear pathways for ex-Service personnel and their families in housing need to move into permanent homes.

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Injured ex-Service personnel should not face benefit sanctions, report finds

Ex-Service personnel with service-related physical or mental health injuries should not have benefit sanctions imposed by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), say researchers of a Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) funded report titled “Sanctions, support and Service leavers: welfare conditionality and transitions from military to civilian life” released today, Thursday 19th April.

The report, by the University of Salford and the University of York, is the first major study investigating the experiences of ex-Service personnel and the benefits system.

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New FiMT Award: Probation Institute awarded funds to develop e learning programme

The Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) has awarded funds of £41,500 to the Probation Institute for a year-long project to develop an e learning product to enable service providers to identify ex-Service personnel under supervision in the criminal justice system.

After completing the e learning training, practitioners will better understand the strengths and vulnerabilities of ex-Service personnel, and have increased awareness of support available within Armed Forces charities with sector expertise and how these can be of help.

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Afghanistan support

In light of recent events in Afghanistan, please find information and support resources here