News

High Sheriff raises over £8,000 for local military charity

The High Sheriff of Clwyd has raised over £8,000 for Blind Veterans UK, the military charity for blind and vision-impaired ex-Service men and women.

Jim O’Toole donated the money after he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. The climb raised funds to purchase vehicles that would assist less-abled veterans visiting the charity’s training and rehabilitation centre in Llandudno to access its popular Woodland Walk.

Of the achievement, which was in fact the second time Jim has climbed Kilimanjaro, he says: “It was exhilarating and of course a fantastic experience. The elements were extremely tough; at night the temperatures at the summit were somewhere between minus 15C and minus 25C, while the oxygen level was only around 50% of that at sea level. We managed to trek eight hours each day, except for the final summit day, which took around 16 hours.”

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Paralympian Joe Townsend visits veterans’ mental health charity

Paralympian and former Royal Marine, Joe Townsend visited veterans’ mental health charity Combat Stress last week at their Surrey based treatment centre to hand over the funds he raised for the charity.

Joe got involved with Combat Stress last year after taking part in the #22PushupChallenge, a viral social media campaign that aimed to raise awareness and support for veterans’ mental health. Putting his own spin on the challenge Joe completed an alternative type of push-up, called planche push-ups and encouraged supporters to donate by adding an extra push-up for every donation. On the final day of the challenge Joe completed over 100 push-ups, a personal best.

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Skegness blind veteran presented with award for outstanding work with military charity

A blind veteran from Skegness has received a prestigious award from military charity Blind Veterans UK, the national charity for vision-impaired ex-Service men and women.

Carol Davies, 66 and from Skegness, received the Blind Veterans UK Community Award which is given to recognise the contribution by a blind veteran, spouse, widow or widower to the family of Blind Veterans UK.

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Auction night raises money for two local charities

Last week, two Worthing-based charities received a cheque of £1,180 at a presentation held at The Mahaan restaurant.

Chippingdale Cricket Club hosted an auction event at The Mahaan to raise funds for The Queen Alexandra Hospital Home (QAHH) and Worthing Churches Homeless Project (WCHP). Auction prizes were kindly donated by local businesses and groups, and the money raised on the night will be split between the two charities.

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A new online research resource on veterans’ health has just been launched

The Health of Veterans’ Research Team (HVRT) at King Edward VII’s (KEVII) Hospital is a new research group established to conduct literature reviews on veterans’ health. The HVRT has just launched their website which will act as an online research resource on veterans’ health by providing literature reviews, exclusive data, as well as news updates. Their website acts as a portal for sourcing information on the health of veterans, and also details more about the team and their current and future research projects. You can access it on https://hvrt-mac-veteranshealth.org/.

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Blind veteran from Stowmarket to take on fastest zip line in the world for military charity

It was in 2012, following a car accident, that the doctors found a brain tumour behind Steven’s eye during an MRI scan. Following its removal, Steven would lose part of his sight. Unfortunately for Steven, a second tumour developed, again behind his eyes, with Steven losing yet more of his eye sight. He says: “I can currently see about three inches in front of my face, with no peripheral vision.”

While Steven, who joined the army at 16 as a Junior Leader, received plenty of advice on how best to cope with his sight loss, he maintains that it wasn’t until he got involved with Blind Veterans UK that he began receiving the practical support he felt necessary to lead an independent life again.

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The Forces in Mind Trust takes its sector briefing programme to the South of England

The Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) held two South of England briefing events, the first in Portsmouth on Thursday 30th and the second in Andover on Friday 31st March, which were attended by over 55 people in total. Attendees came from a wide range of sectors including the Armed Forces Community and the Armed Forces charity sector as well as other key stakeholders and interested parties who work to support ex-Service personnel, and their families.

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Improving mental health services for veterans and armed forces personnel approaching discharge

NHS England has launched improved mental health services for veterans in response to a national engagement undertaken last year. The views of veterans and their families have helped to inform a service that builds on the success of previous provision and seeks to provide increased access to local care and treatment across the country in a more uniformed manner. This includes recognising the early signs of mental health problems and providing access to early treatment and support, as well as therapeutic treatment for complex mental health difficulties and psychological trauma. Patients are also provided with help, where appropriate, with employment, reduction in alcohol consumption, housing and social support.

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