This briefing note (updated July 2017) provides an outline of the current evidence on UK military mental health, including prevalence rates of mental health problems in serving regulars, serving reserves and those who have left service. Findings relating to suicide, help-seeking, risk-taking, violence, offending and
deployment mental health support are also addressed.
According to industry experts, bedroom and bed-space occupancy across the serviced accommodation sector (Resorts, hotels, cottages and B&Bs) has on average remained flat and ranges between 8 out of ten rooms to 7 in in ten rooms in the North of the country. From the data available in the EU occupation ranges from just three in ten to 7 in ten. There are clearly seasonal variations but minimising Dead Space is a challenge for all.
How to make the most of this spare capacity and make it profitable
A number of hotel and property owners, at home and overseas, are already donating their spare capacity to charity. The Military Charity Give Us Time assists Service families who are in need: the beneficiaries have suffered bereavement, physical injuries and mental illnesses, have challenging financial circumstances and/or separation due to deployment. The best way to employ your spare capacity is to donate it to charitable causes like Give Us Time.
Read moreWalking With The Wounded welcomed Expedition Patron, Prince Harry, back to Canada Street in Manchester to see what had been achieved since the major DIY SOS transformation took place in 2015.
The ‘Veterans Village’ – once a dilapidated street on the outskirts of Manchester, is now home to some ex-servicemen and women who initially struggled with the transition back into civvy-live after leaving the Armed Forces.
Read moreWe are excited to announce that we have teamed up with the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court to send five military families to the beautiful Azure Resort in Malta in October 2017.
“The five families are all patients from the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) at Headley Court, which aims to return all those service personnel injured or seriously ill to full fitness. DMRC is a nationally recognised centre of excellence that provides rehabilitation for more complex injuries, including amputee and neurological patients.
Read moreFollow this link to all the latest news from Blesma.
Read moreA survey from Help for Heroes* has revealed that many ex-servicemen and women in the UK have issues sleeping, with over 2 in 5 (41%) stating that they sleep badly on an average night (compared to 27% of the general public, according to a study from the Sleep Council**). Indeed, a quarter of veterans get less than five hours’ sleep on an average night – much less than the widely recommended eight hours.
The results also show that in particular those aged between 25 and 54 struggle to regularly get a good night’s sleep (58%), and that female veterans suffer most, with almost 4 in 5 (70%) of those surveyed saying that they feel they don’t get enough sleep.
Read moreWalking With The Wounded (WWTW) is exceptionally proud of beneficiary, Kyle, who is planning to run from Warrington to Ipswich in just 5 days. Kyle will be starting his 210 mile journey from Warrington on Monday 4th September, aiming to run 42 miles per day.
Kyle served with 9 Parachute Squadron RE (Royal Engineers) and served 2 tours of Afghanistan.
Kyle has explained on his Just Giving page: “I am trying to raise as much money as possible… for PTSD victims.” He is hoping to raise £1000 for the military charity Walking With The Wounded, which supports physically, mentally and socially wounded ex-servicemen and women back into independence by assisting them into sustainable employment and helping them to reintegrate back into society.
Read more17th August 2017 – The Royal Star & Garter Homes is proud to announce that both the Charity’s Homes’ have been awarded the Level 1 Kitemark by Dementia Care Matters, following recent, unannounced audits. The Charity has Homes in Solihull, West Midlands, and Surbiton, Surrey.
Level 1 is the highest accolade achievable through Dementia Care Matters’ National ‘Butterfly Home Quality of Life National Accreditation Kitemark’ awards. It indicates that a Home is demonstrating ‘exceptional person-centred dementia care of the highest quality of life level’. Only 1% of care homes within the UK achieve a Level 1 distinction.
Read moreA woman from West London is preparing to run the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon for Blind Veterans UK, the national charity for blind and vision-impaired ex-Service men and women.
Louise Viisminas, 49 and from Hayes, is taking on the 13.1 mile challenge as part of a wider fitness regime that has seen her lose an astonishing 52 kilos, more than eight stone, since Febraury 2016. She explains: “I ended up having a few health issues and eventually came to the realisation that it had to stop. Something needed to change and that’s when I decided to start improving my fitness.
“I’m now in a place where I’ve constantly got to challenge myself. I do the park run every week, which is 5k, and also took part in a charity walk last september. I ended up covering 7k in 50 minutes, and then thought, why not starting running?”
Read moreWe hope that the new site will provide a user-friendly and functional approach for Armed Forces families who are seeking support and also other charities who may signpost to us. The Ripple Pond is a peer-led support network for adult family members of physically and/or emotionally injured service personnel and veterans.
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Afghanistan support
In light of recent events in Afghanistan, please find information and support resources here
