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.
A 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 moreThe Aged Veterans Fund, funded by the Chancellor using LIBOR funds have awarded Alabaré’s Homes for Veterans a grant of £169,385 over a period of 2 years. The money will be used to provide supported accommodation to Aged Veterans, those who are 65+ and vulnerable.
Read moreCEO of Veterans Aid Dr Hugh Milroy has been appointed Visiting Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychological Medicine at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN).
He said, “I am proud and delighted to have what has been a long ‘informal’ relationship with King’s formalised in this way. Students are our future and I hope that by working with them we can open minds and challenge some of the orthodox thinking about veterans that leads to so much harmful stereotyping.”
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 moreWholesale jewellery brand, Frank Ross Ltd. has raised almost £40,000 for Combat Stress, the UK’s leading veterans’ mental health charity.
After hearing of the work Combat Stress does to help veterans with mental health conditions, Frank Ross Ltd. decided to support the charity through the sale of their poppy jewellery collection. Since they started supporting the charity in late 2015 Frank Ross Ltd. has raised almost £40,000 for Combat Stress.
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.
Read moreThanks to funding from Help for Heroes, we were once again able to take two groups of injured servicemen on white water canoeing trips to the French Alps – perhaps the most exhilarating and beneficial activity in our entire programme of events.
These trips embody our motto ‘From Comradeship To Challenge’ and follow our unique formula of mixing injured serving men and women with veterans of different ages, services and campaigns.
Read moreFundraising for Mission Motorsport, next weekend a group of intrepid cyclists will be competing in the Rad Am Ring, 24hr cycle challenge at the Nurburging, in the Eifel region of Germany. Each lap is 26km and includes a 1500 ft climb. Two laps is the equivalent of cycling up Scafell Pyke. Each rider hopes to complete at least 8 laps within the 24hrs and included in the team will be Para-Olympian Gold Medallist Jon-Allan Butterworth, getting his legs back in shape after his Rio gold medal of 2016.
Read moreA team of Mission Motorsport staff and volunteers recently completed a motorsport related challenge of their own making, aptly called Spa Trek – a 3 day, 155km trek across former WWII battlefields, connecting two of the most iconic motor circuits in the world.
The walk started by going around the famous 26km Nurburgring Nordschleife race circuit and then setting off cross-country, through the German Eifel, crossing the border, via some overgrown WWII Siegfried Line anti-tank ‘dragons teeth’ defences, into the Belgium Ardennes
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Afghanistan support
In light of recent events in Afghanistan, please find information and support resources here
