Salford has opened a new gateway to support for armed service personnel, their families and veterans.
Held each Monday, between 10am and 2pm at Swinton Gateway, the new one-stop-shop aims to provide all the help the service family might need in just one place.
The drop-in sessions aim to provide a friendly face to provide help with benefits and housing advice, training, education and job opportunities and signpost people to the emotional and wellbeing support that is available.
And it’s all being run by ex-service personnel and their families – the people who know exactly what adapting to civilian life is like.
Salford City Mayor Ian Stewart said: “Veterans, service personnel and their families deserve the right kind of help to ease the pressures of everyday life. The one-stop-shop is a friendly place they can visit to get help.
“They might need to get their child a place at school or simply want to be put in contact with other people from the armed service family to share memories and experiences.”
Christine Barwood, Chairwoman of the Veterans Network, retired from Salford City Council on 31 August and is already back and volunteering to help people in need. She said: “The drop-in session is the best place to go – whenever we can’t help we know someone who can.”
In October 2013, Salford signed a community covenant to pledge support to the armed forces.
It means the council support armed forces members in accessing further help and support from the Ministry of Defence and organisations in the charitable and voluntary sector, such as the Royal British Legion.
A group of veterans and their families came together last year to create Salford’s Armed Forces Veterans Network and has already successfully launched the breakfast club, a ladies group, a befriending service as well working alongside the council to make important changes around housing, benefits and health.
The network aims to foster an environment of well being and shared experiences for other veterans and their families and they have ambitious plans for the future.
