COVENANT Reaching out to the
ARMED FORCES COMMUNITY in Gateshead
G
ateshead Council run a service with an employee dedicated solely to those who have an Armed Forces
or Reserves background and their families.
Since its set up in Oct 12 the Armed Forces Community Outreach Service has helped over 160 people in the borough of Gateshead and won an award for delivering better outcomes at the 2013 Municipal Journal Awards.
Discussions between Armed Forces Lead Officer Angela Frisby, Housing Manager Lisa Philliskirk and Supported Housing Manager Abby Smith led to a recognition that there were potentially a significant number of service personnel and veterans in Gateshead, and that frontline council staff often had difficulty in assessing the needs of these clients, having little knowledge or understanding of the life unique to serving personnel, veterans and their families.
A bid to the Armed Forces Community Covenant fund, supported by Gateshead Armed Forces Network and Council Service Director, Michael Laing and other partners was successful in gaining funding for a
veteran to be employed part-time as the Armed Forces Community Outreach Worker. Mick Downworth who served 23 years took up the post. He said:
“Council staff were often confused with the unique needs of service and ex service families who were leaving quarters and looking for housing and found the Armed Forces community talked a language they just didn’t understand and that’s where I come in.”
Mick’s role is to assess individual needs and help with resettlement, housing, education, training, health and welfare.
“The success of this post has been helped hugely thanks to the array of council services I can call on, including debt advice, occupational health, housing advice and homelessness prevention, tenancy support, young peoples’ services and economic development but to name a few. We also have good working relationships with other local authorities, service charities such as SSAFA, the Royal British Legion, Help for Heroes, local and regional military units and of course the service Families Federations.”
In a typical week Mick may help families leaving the forces gain urgent priority awards for local authority housing walking them through the process in a seamless transition into their new homes. He will help veterans and families access training, grants and employment and works closely with employment consultants such as Remploy. Mick is also a SSAFA caseworker and uses the online Case Management System to raise funds for clients in need.
“Often clients are looking for help with a single issue such as housing but other problems will surface during the conversation. There might be depression or difficulty in coping with civilian life, debt or unemployment. Our service at Gateshead focuses on all problems the Armed Forces community faces and we get the help they need.
“It often comes as a great relief to talk to a someone who understands the issues that the Armed Forces community faces. One of the biggest problems I come across is the sense of loss and social isolation some people feel when they leave the forces. Most people transition to civilian life without any problems but there are a significant number who find themselves struggling to cope.”
A local community centre was hired for Friday afternoons and Mick’s contacts and clients were invited along and the ‘Gateshead Veterans and Families Hub’ was born. The hub is a massive success, thanks largely to the kindred spirit that the Armed Forces community embodies.
On the back of the success from Gateshead’s the service is expanding and there is now a new Tyneside Armed Forces Community Outreach Service covering all areas of Tyneside with an additional three outreach workers posts. Watch this space!
For more information on the Tyneside Armed Forces Community Outreach Service and the Veterans and Families Hubs please contact Mick Downworth: mickdownworth@
gateshead.gov.uk. Tel: 0191 4332612
28 Envoy Summer 2014
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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