It is really easy to support Forward Assist even while you shop.
Every time your order through Amazon Smile, they will make a donation to us.
Go to: smile.amazon.co.uk
Log in using your normal Amazon log in.
Select Forward Assist Limited
Shop as normal, and we will receive a donation from Amazon.
It really is that simple, you can support us without any extra cost to yourself.
Click here to get set up: smile.amazon.co.uk
As people across the country start to be vaccinated, now is not the time to break the rules, please follow the guidance and let’s keep each other safe.
If you attend work, remember to:
Maintain 2m social distance
Frequently wash your hands throughout the day
Meet virtually wherever possible
Clean desks and work surfaces before and after use
Notify your manager, self-isolate and arrange a test if you show any symptoms
Observe all the working arrangements relevant to your job role.
If there’s one thing the recent lockdowns have taught us in never take the NHS or Dentistry for granted. Several Veterans on our caseload have had to self medicate in the absence of instant access to dental care and we received anecdotal evidence that one was so desperate he removed his own tooth, which raised additional health and hygiene concerns. In the North East we are very lucky to have a Dental Training Hospital in the City Centre which provides emergency treatment at no cost for those in need. Its proved to be invaluable for many.
The excellent ‘Veteran Friendly’ GP scheme has proved to be extremely helpful in reminding veterans of the importance of registering with a GP practice but also in connecting them with the plethora of Veteran Support groups that now exist in many areas. We at Forward Assist & Salute Her UK are promoting the idea that both NHS Dentists and the Private Dental Sector join the scheme with particular consideration given to the needs of women who have been traumatised by sexual assault. If you are interested in supporting us in this endeavour please get in touch at: admin@forward-assist.com
Forward Assist & Salute Her Are Delighted To Partner With ‘Forces in The Community’ & ‘Veterans Contact Point’ To Establish ‘The Veterans Collaborative UK’
Vision Statement
The Veterans Collaborative UK aims to build fully integrated partnerships with military charities and community based organisations in support of UK Military Veterans and their families.
Mission Statement
Veterans Collaborative UK is a strong voice created to advocate for a holistic, compassionate continuum of services, treatment and care for our service members, veterans, families, care givers and care providers. We provide a forum to share information and education, raise awareness, focus outreach and promote strategic partnerships that will streamline and improve access to entitlements, benefits and health and wellbeing services.
The Development of a veteran specific ‘Accelerated Access Collaborative’ could bridge the gap for those veterans that have fallen through the gap of the welfare safety net.
See: https://www.veteranscollaborative.co.uk/
Bob Wilson, Forward Assist volunteer and Royal Artillery Veteran served fifteen years in the military and was involved in seven tours of Northern Ireland. Bob 70, suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and lives on his own. He has embraced the healthy living skills he acquired on two of our Health & Wellbeing veteran retreats and was a keen participant on the healthy eating and cookery classes designed by Team Forward Assist. In September 2019, Bob decided he would make significant changes to his lifestyle. On the advice of our Occupational Therapist he stopped eating fried food and white bread and bought a pressure cooker with which to cook all his meals.
Under the guidance of his GP and a dietician, Bob who was 21 stone, now weighs in at a healthy 12 stone. His blood pressure has normalised and he is now able to take his companion dog for long walks. This has made a huge difference to Bob’s health and mental wellbeing as he is no longer breathless and he no longer needs breathing apparatus for sleep apnoea. Outstanding Bob, well done you!
Quote:
“Attending the healthy eating course taught me how to cook better and make healthier meals. I now enjoy cooking and enjoy experimenting with new recipes. Because of the healthy eating course I now know what not to eat and how to replace un-healthy food with a healthier alternative. The course also gave me a purpose to get out of the house and meet new people.”
Its six years since we won the Centre for Social Justice Award in 2015. Since that time we have remained true to our core values and continued to develop services that are ‘needs led’ and ‘person centred’.
We are particularly proud of our ground-breaking work developing gender specific support services for women veterans.
You can watch the video here : https://youtu.be/d1XczsPVrFI
Team Forward Assist in collaboration with the ‘Salute Her’ Women Veteran Task Force are campaigning for a statue that celebrates and reflects the service, sacrifice of women veterans past and present. (Including all those women from minority groups such as the BAME and LGBT community.)
After receiving a message from a Woman veteran asking why all statues in London only depict men or symbolic representations of of female WW2 Veterans, our Patron Mary Glindon MP wrote to Johnny Mercer MP to see if he would support such a campaign. See his response below:
Disappointing, but the campaign goes on….
Team Forward Assist are delighted to be partnering with fellow Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Travelling Fellowship recipient Charlie Morley in 2021. Charlie Morley has over 10 years’ experience in the field of sleep, dreams & mindfulness and has authored three bestselling books on the subject.
He is the lead facilitator and co-creator of Mindfulness of Dream & Sleep.
Although best known as an authorised teacher of lucid dreaming within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition he has been teaching on veteran’s mindfulness retreats since 2016 and has presented his work at the Ministry of Defence Mindfulness Symposium and the Defence Buddhist Conference.
In 2018 he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship grant to research “Mindfulness Based PTSD Treatment in Veterans” and continues to teach sleep & dream practices to armed forces veterans and civilians with Stress or Trauma Affected Sleep Patterns.
You can find out more about Charlies ground breaking work ‘Beyond mindfulness: Best practice for Veterans with PTSD’ by watching this fantastic video which captures his travels in Canada and the USA.
Wishing All Our Supporters A Happy New Year
Thanks to funding from the National Health Service (NHS) and the Armed Forces Covenant Trust Fund we will be recruiting up to eight professionally qualified staff in 2021 to develop and support innovative ‘gender specific’ interventions for veterans and their families. We will continue to develop comprehensive assessments that address individual and family needs. Through care coordination and integrated care pathways we will facilitate direct linkage to treatment services for Post Traumatic Stress (PTS),Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Moral Injury and Military Sexual Trauma . Our ‘Healthy Relationships’ workshops and ‘Citizenship Reloaded’ programme will offer a ‘best in class’ approach to supporting families who may be experiencing relational stressors following adjustment to civilian life and/or the difficulties faced during the C-19 pandemic.
Forward Assist and Salute Her are delighted to have partnered with ‘Suitability NE’ to give twelve unemployed, male and female veterans the best chance possible chance of finding work in 2021. The twelve lucky veterans will be given a voucher which will enable them to access a free suit, shoes, shirt and tie to improve employment chances next year. The package of support will also include one to one confidence building sessions , a free haircut from veteran owned barbers ‘The Mane Man’ in Dudley and mock interview training from one of our business partners. You can find out more about Suitability at : https://suit-ability.com/
Team Forward Assist & Salute Her are taking a well earned break over the festive period but you can still contact us at admin@forward-assist.com and we will pick up your message when we return to work in a few days time. In the meantime stay safe, be kind and look after yourselves and others.
We are delighted to report that the Forward Assist Veteran Retreats will be back in 2021. Richard Skerritt has kindly agreed that we can use his property in France, in March 2021 for the Women Only Veterans Retreat. The male Veteran Retreat will once again take place in September.
Our wisest and oldest veteran Jack Hearn has been awarded his 10th Dan black belt in Judo aged 97 years young. Jack is a regular visitor at the Forward Assist HQ and spent his 96th birthday with the charity at our annual veterans retreat in France. Jack epitomises our belief that a life lived well is one lived in the service of others. During the lockdown, keep fit and healthy eating guru Jack has kept in touch with the team and received a fruit hamper for Christmas from a local firm who were in awe of his life long achievements and can do attitude. Read about his remarkable life here: Cramlington's 'Judo' Jack Hearn, 97, gets his 10th Dan black belt and maybe a world record - Chronicle Live
We were delighted that Chi Onwurah MP took the time to mention Forward Assist on 11th November 2020. Forward Assist’s virtual support service came into being in March during the first national lockdown. Since that time, the uptake of veterans accessing ‘one to one’ confidential advice and support has quadrupled with veterans accessing support from as far afield as Holland, France and Germany. Forward Assist are seeking funding to expand this much needed service. See video link: https://twitter.com/ChiOnwurah/status/1326545172897824768/video/1
On 3rd November in House of Commons, Patron Sarah Atherton MP kindly talked of the ground breaking work of Forward Assist and Salute Her UK. You can watch the clip here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1323959599863574529 We look forward to meeting up with Sarah in 2021. (Covid-19 Permitting )
In partnership with ‘Baseline Research’ Forward Assist are delighted to be facilitating an ethnographic research inquiry into the impact ‘Military Sexual Trauma’ has on male service personnel during and after service. Read more here: ……… download pdf
Paula Edwards was delighted to be shortlisted as a finalist in the Soldiering on Awards 2020. Paula was recognised for her outstanding work supporting veterans with mental health issues access benefits and entitlements. Paula’s holistic approach to trauma informed care and support has enabled many isolated and lonely veterans access engage with mainstream services transforming their lives in the process. Everyone at Forward Assist was delighted to see her work recognised in this prestigious award ceremony.
The importance of a healthy nutritious diet is often overlooked by military veterans. Forward Assist CEO Tony Wright writes about the need for diet to be taken seriously by veterans and service charities. https://cloresocialleadership.org.uk/blogpost/1885767/359349/Leading-from-the-kitchen
