A new £2m project designed to help coordinate services between military charities will launch in May, according to a statement released by the Royal British Legion.
The new service, called Veterans’ Gateway, will be a one-stop service to support British Armed Forces veterans in need, and will launch in the week beginning 22 May 2017. It has been set up with £2m of government funding from the Ministry of Defence.
It is being run by a consortium of military charities including The Royal British Legion, Poppyscotland, SSAFA and Combat Stress. Service provider Connect Assist will manage the contact centre.
Response to concerns about number of charities
The new project has been launched in response to concerns that there are more than 2,000 charitable groups offering help to veterans, and it is hard for them to navigate their way to the correct service.
“Veterans’ Gateway has been created to make it easier to navigate the large number of organisations that already exist to support those who have served in the forces,” a statement accompanying the launch announcement said.
“The service will be the first point of contact for veterans and their families to access information, advice and support on a range of issues including healthcare, housing, and employment. It will allow services from organisations to be accessed from one place.”
Veteran’s Gateway will have a website as well as online chat, phone and text message services available to any veteran, from anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day. Veterans can access face-to-face support through the Veterans’ Gateway network of partners across the UK and overseas.
Organisations involved
- The Royal British Legion
- Poppyscotland
- Poppy Factory
- Help for Heroes
- Veterans UK
- RFEA – The Forces Employment Charity
- Blesma – the Limbless Veterans Charity
- SSAFA
- Blind Veterans UK
- Combat Stress
- X-Forces
- Forces Pension Society
- Walking with the Wounded
- Officers’ Association
- Stoll
- Shelter
- Career Transition Partnership
- Family Fund
- Mind
- Relate
- SAIL
- Tax Help for Older People
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