Forward Assist were delighted to receive funding from the Office for Veterans Affairs, Veterans’ Health Innovation Fund. The Forward Assist project will look at and develop a clear understanding of the multiple and complex issues faced by military veterans with lived experience of in-service sexual violence, suicidal ideation and identify gaps in service provision.
We were delighted to host a visit from Johnny Mercer MP at the Forward Assist Veterans Health & Wellbeing Hub. During the visit, Minister Mercer met with Team Salute Her UK and had an in depth discussion on our mutual research papers into the long-term impact of sexual assault on both women and men during military service. We thanked the Minister for funding our next research project looking into the correlation between Military Sexual Trauma and suicidal ideation which starts later this month.
Following the groundbreaking research report No Man’s Land (2019) which explored the lived experience of women veterans living with the long term affect of sexual assault whilst serving in the UK military. Since then, a Parliamentary Inquiry has identified significant failings supporting female sexual assault victim/survivors from all three branches of the service.
This report includes testimonies from serving women and veterans. You can both reports here: https://www.forward-assist.com/salute-her-research
If you are a women veteran or currently serving and need help then please contact: https://www.saluteheruk.co.uk/
Tony Wright Founder and CEO of Forward Assist wins a Silver Lifetime Achievement Award at the Social Worker of the Year Awards in London on 4th November 2022. The Social Worker of the Year Awards is the only major national awards event for social work in England, attracting hundreds of entries every year and reaching millions of people with positive stories of outstanding social work, creative and compassionate practitioners and outstanding practice.
“ I was delighted to receive the Silver Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of the last 38 years working in a variety of social work settings. More recently our research, support services and interventions for marginalised military veterans and the creation of Salute Her UK as a dedicated registered charity for women veterans in need of gender specific trauma informed support has taken up a lot of my time and energy and I look forward to learning from and developing services for male veterans in the next few years.” Tony Wright CEO
On 2 April 1982, Argentine forces landed on the Falkland Islands and assumed military control, invading South Georgia Island the following day. The UK launched Operation Corporate – tasked with regaining the British territory in the South Atlantic.Every year, 14 June marks Liberation Day – commemorating the end of the occupation of the islands by Argentina.It marks the day UK Armed Forces advanced on the capital, Stanley, and Argentine troops fled.Liberation Day remembers the more-than-250 British troops who lost their lives during the 10-week conflict. This year we invited a group of Royal Marine Commando combat veterans to our residential retreat in France so they could enjoy a little respite during the 40th year commemorations . Everyone had an amazing break and we thank Richard Skerritt, Barbour UK and Bolt Burdon & Kemp Solicitors for their help in making this opportunity a reality.
“The week was certainly memorable and like others have said ' I haven't stopped laughing '.On a serious point I hope we are able to all meet up again, the time spent with ' oppos' is very important for me. In France it was both an emotional and therapeutic few days.I sincerely send my best wishes to all individuals involved in Forward Assist and really appreciate the essential work they/you carry out.Finally I would like to thank you personally for accommodating all of us.”
We were delighted to host a visit from Rachel Hopkins MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Veterans and Defence People.
Visiting Forward Assist allowed Rachel to see first-hand the variety of support and guidance they provide to veterans, as well as specialist support for those who suffered in-service sexual assault. Founder and Chief Executive, Tony Wright, gave Rachel a tour of their HQ and introduced Rachel to their Women Veterans Lead and Veterans Family First Worker. In June, Forward Assist reported that they have seen an increase in referrals from ex-military personnel since the beginning of the war in Ukraine with symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Rachel was joined on both visits by Sharon Hodgson MP, MP for Washington and Sunderland West and Parliamentary Private Secretary to Keir Starmer MP, and Councillor Andy Newman, North Tyneside Councillor and Labour Friends of the Forces, joined the visit to Forward Assist.
September is veteran retreat month. Every year we give a selected group of military veterans the opportunity to to enjoy a little respite in the beautiful French countryside. Thanks to the generosity of Richard Skerritt & funding from Bolt Burdon & Kemp Solicitors we were able to facilitate our very first women only residential retreat.
‘’The accommodation was out of this world. I never expected in my whole life that I would be staying in such a beautiful place. From start to finish everything was perfect. Thank you too all who organised this fantastic trip. I will never forget it’’
" My mental health has not been great. I have had ongoing issues with accepting my trauma and learning to live with my memories. The trip came at just the right time’’.
‘’The whole trip was phenomenal. I could not thank Forward Assist & Salute Her enough. The trip showed me that there is more to life, & for the first time I felt like I was living’’.
Team Forward Assist and Salute Her UK were honoured to be invited to the Maritime Charities Group (MCG) conference on 6th Sept 2022 at Trinity House, Tower Hill, London. Tony Wright CEO Forward Assist and Paula Edwards CEO Salute Her UK CEO shared the findings of our research papers looking at the life long impact of sexual assault on intersectional groups within in a variety military settings.
Team Forward Assist & Sister Charity Salute Her UK were honoured to be invited on a study visit to Australia as part of the and Open Door Visiting Lecturer Series in July 2022. WE were asked to share our findings from our ethnographic research papers: No Man’s Land, Exit Wounds & El Hombre Invisible.
The multi-city - multi University lecture tour culminated in Brisbane with over 200 individuals accessing the in person and virtual presentations. This follows on from our International presentation on Military Sexual and other forms of abuse delivered in partnership with Professors Ben Wadham and James Connor in March 2022 which had 469 people watching live via the video link.
Proud to be moving this difficult conversation forward. A huge thank you to Robert Lippiart and his team for organising and hosting such a wonderful learning experience.
Team Salute Her UK were invited to London by Mary Glindon MP & Sarah Atherton MP to meet with politicians from both sides of the House to talk about the unique needs of women veterans and their families.
We were delighted to be invited to visit Alnwick Gardens by our Patron Her Grace, The Duchess of Northumberland. We discussed how best to work together in 2023 especially in relation to facilitating opportunities for military families to access the variety of opportunities in the beautiful rural setting of Alnwick Gardens. Watch this space folks.
A social work-led charity supporting veterans has seen an increase in referrals from ex-military personnel retraumatised by the war in Ukraine.
Forward Assist says symptoms include increased anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and “media induced hopelessness”, intrusive thoughts and suicidal ideation.
Chief executive Tony Wright warned scenes of bombings, civilian casualties and military conflict broadcast daily in the news were triggering to some veterans, particularly those who had seen armed combat.
“The last two months has brought a tidal wave of new referrals from men and women who have served in past conflicts seeking health and support,
Published by Professional Social Work Magazine, 18 May, 2022
Read more Here: https://t.co/G4QcV3UL7d
In 2021, Forward Assist, a military veterans charity, published its report, “El Hombre Invisible”. It is one of the most painful reports I have ever read. I can barely get through a few pages without feeling my body tighten and experiencing a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“El Hombre Invisible” includes harrowing stories from 30 male military veterans, revealing sexual abuse, harassment and rape whilst serving in the British Armed Forces. I was already well aware of the similarly horrific experiences of women veterans. I helped promote Forward Assist’s joint 2019 report “No Man’s Land” with Salute Her – a female veterans charity – to politicians in the UK (we received a very lukewarm response). “No Man’s Land” also detailed the sexual offences and silencing experienced by women. Learning about the sexual offences stories from so many men woke me from my lazy assumption that rape is predominantly a women’s issue.
Read More Here: https://macemagazine.com/dolitics-protecting-our-armed-forces/
Support and research must be made a priority in tackling the “hidden and under-reported” issue of sexual abuse of LGBTQ+ service personnel in the Armed Forces, a ground breaking new report has concluded.
The Exit Wounds report has identified the scale of LGBTQ+ survivors in the Armed Forces and the trauma that they faced during their time in service, and continue to face in living their lives outside of the military as a result of Military Sexual Assault (MSA).
Through research with survivors, veterans’ support charity Forward Assist has shone new light on the psychological trauma from experiences at the hands of colleagues in the military – an institution where, prior to 2000, serving members of the LGBT community could be expelled on the basis of their sexuality. Read more here: https://www.nrtimes.co.uk/trauma-of-lgbtq-sexual-abuse-in-military-revealed-npstory/
Forward Assist & Salute Her UK Patrons, Sarah Atherton MP and Emma Lewell-Buck MP made opening speeches at the launch of Salute Her UK at the House of Commons on 24th May 2022. Both talked about the privilege it was to be part of a groundbreaking charity designed specifically for women service personnel and veterans. Sarah made reference to work of Forward Assist and the exceptional work of Paula Edwards the Salute Her UK mental health therapist in raising awareness of the needs of women veterans and supporting those with lived experience of sexual assault. She also acknowledged how pivotal our ’No Man’s Land’ research report was in relation to the subsequent Defence Committee Report, Protecting Those That Protect Us: Women in The Armed Forces From Recruitment To Civilian Life.
You can watch and listen to her speech here: https://youtu.be/lbzXAMSNeWk
This summer the Family First Team has organised a fantastic trip to the Roman Wall in Northumberland. The day will include an educational guided tour of Vindolanda https://www.vindolanda.com/ followed by a family BBQ and a supervised walk along the Whin Sill to Sycamore Gap. For the adventurous we have also organised a rock climb up Crag Lough under the supervision of Chris Pretty https://www.chrisprettymountaineering.co.uk/
If you would like to attend contact : nicole@forward-assist.com
We were delighted that Sarah Atherton MP and Emma Lewell-Buck both Patrons of Forward Assist were able to take time out of their busy schedules to launch Salute Her UK. Now a registered charity in England & Wales See: https://www.saluteheruk.co.uk/
Forward Assist CEO Tony Wright
“Given the unprecedented demand for a women only service over the past two years we were delighted to be able create the UK’s first and currently only tri service charity dedicated to supporting women veterans, past and present. With funding from the Churchill Fellowship and Sage Foundation we are proud to be opening up a new landscape for women veterans and female service personnel.“
The Forward Assist Debating Society were delighted to facilitate a visit to the House of Commons on 24th May 2022. During lockdown and with funding from the AFCFT we were able to train 40 women veteran’s in the art of British Parliamentary Debate in partnership with Parallel Histories, Cambridge Union Debating Society. We also arranged for additional mental health resilience training as many people felt overwhelmed by anxiety caused by repeated lockdowns and social isolation. This was provided by Professor Steve Peters, Chimp Management team.
An early start on the 24th allowed us to include an educational tour of the Palace of Westminster, kindly arranged for the women veterans by Sarah Atherton MP. This was followed by a demonstration debate from the women veterans proposition team on whether UK armed forces service charities were doing enough for women veterans. The opposition team won the debate with an overwhelming majority of the audience voting in their favour. A great day was had by all.
Following the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and the ongoing war in Ukraine it would appear that a non stop combination of graphic news reports and 24 hours social media posts, has led to many veterans of all ages, struggling to cope with unresolved trauma and poor mental health. This has led to an increase in inquiries to the services we offer and in particular the AFCFT funded Mindfulness of Dream & Sleep course delivered in partnership with Charlie Morley.Charlie Morley is a bestselling author and teacher of Mindfulness of Dream & Sleep. His 2021 book, Wake Up to Sleep is a practical guide to these practices. He’s spoken at both Oxford and Cambridge Universities and the Ministry of Defence Mindfulness Symposium, Tony Wright CEO of Forward Assist argues that,
“The role of a social worker in providing care for veterans has never been more important.
“Social workers are highly trained professionals working to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of those individuals who are struggling.
“They are in the best position to help and support veterans and their families through either direct practice, crisis intervention, care coordination, community organising and person-centred care.
“As I have advocated in the past, UK social workers should train to specialise in providing and coordinating multi-disciplinary support to those that have put themselves in harm’s way to protect us at times like this.”
Read more here: https://www.basw.co.uk/resources/psw-magazine/psw-online/war-ukraine-triggering-veterans-warns-social-work-led-charity
The return to normal life after nearly two years of Covid-19 influenced restrictions has, for many of our veterans, caused significant anxiety. In response to concerns about loneliness and social isolation we ran our first Veteran Retreat of the year in Kielder Forest at the end of April. All the participants enjoyed being in the great outdoors but it was the camaraderie and quality time spent away with friends and our ‘in house’ therapists that made all the difference. Similarly, the members of the Veterans Angling Academy were keen to make the most of the predicted good weather and catch fish to supplement their food budgets. So, on a bright sunny morning, it was an alpine start for anglers and therapists as they all boarded the JFK Two at North Shield Marina. After seven wonderful hours at sea the team returned with over 150 cod and on the way back to the marina they were given a master class in how to fillet fish by the boat crew. The catch was then divided up between the anglers and everyone went home with plenty of fish and for some newly found sea legs.
‘Thank you so much for today, best thing I have been part of for years . I have had a lovely day and now have something to talk about.’
‘Thank you for taking me fishing, you have been the only constant in my year from hell, and the only thing that has kept me going. Today I forgot for seven hours and just breathed.’
