| Introduction
Home Ownership Pilot Scheme
Communities
and Local Government (opens in another window )
Service Personnel and Veterans Agency
Ex-Service Action Group on Homelessness
Directory Services (help, advice, support, accomodation
etc)
Ex-Service Action Group on Homelessness
The Ex-Service Action Group on homelessness (ESAG)
was set up in 1997 to help former members of the forces who are homeless.
Some members are listed below.
Resources
For Homeless Ex-Service Personnel in London
 ARP
ARP is a London based charity and a registered
housing association. We exist to reduce the harm caused by problem alcohol
and drug use. We provide client-focused community and accommodation-based
services, supporting people to achieve positive change and freedom from
the harmful effects of alcohol and other drugs.
The Ex-Service Resettlement Project is a partnership
service with ARP and The Royal British Legion to provide support services
to homeless and vulnerable ex-service personnel.
The service supports clients to find appropriate
accommodation and offers a resettlement package of six months to a year
to ensure that clients are able to manage their tenancies and link into
relevant local community services. Visit: www.arp-uk.org
 Combat
Stress
Set up over 80 years ago, this is the only service charity specialising in
helping all ranks who have suffered psychological injuries during combat.
Those helped may be any age from early twenties to over ninety.
Combat Stress welfare officers visit clients at home, and there
are three treatment centres where victims stay and learn to cope with their
disabilities. Representatives visit homeless hostels looking for veterans
in need of help.
The charities current projects include
building a new £1.7
m annex at their Scottish centre in Ayrshire and raising £340,000 for
a centre in the Midlands. Call 01372 841600 or visit www.combatstress.org.uk.
 SSAFA
Forces Help stands for Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association –
Forces Help.
We are the national charity helping serving and ex-Service men, women and
their families and dependants including widows and widowers in need. Eligibility
for our help is one day's paid service in any of HM Armed Forces and National
Service. We also help those who completed a period of satisfactory service
in the Reserve Services. www.ssafa.org.uk/housing.html
 British
Legion
The Royal British Legion provides financial, social and emotional support
to millions who have served and are currently serving in the Armed Forces,
and their dependants. Currently, nearly 10.5 million people are eligible
for our support. Poppy Support is the new name for all our welfare
services. It is split into six categories: Poppy Advice, Poppy Funds, Poppy
Breaks, Poppy Homes, Poppy Travel and Poppy People. Through these
schemes we can provide a range of support including grants in an immediate
crisis, loans and advice on starting up a Small Business, full-time care
in one of our Care Homes, a break in one of our four Poppy Break Centres,
and many other services. For more information, call Legionline on
08457 725 725 or visit our website: www.britishlegion.org.uk
Army
Benevolent Fund
The Army Benevolent Fund (ABF) is the Army’s national charity.
For over sixty years the charity has worked tirelessly to provide financial
and practical support to soldiers, former soldiers and their families in
times of need.
The people we support include those with disabilities or mental illness, people
experiencing homelessness or unemployment, and older people.
The Army Benevolent Fund can help you through your
Regimental or Corps Association, who will do what they can before sending
the case on to us for extra help.
The first step is to contact the local organisation who prepare the cases on
behalf of the Associations and ABF. Your local branch of SSAFA Forces Help or
the County Field Officer of the Royal British Legion will arrange for a case
worker to visit you. You will find their numbers in your local Yellow Pages,
or contact our welfare department for help with this. These organisations will
prepare a report which they will send on to your Association.
SPACES
(Single Persons Accommodation Centre for the Ex-Services)
SPACES, an accommodation placement service based in Catterick, was opened
in 2000 and provides help to single service leavers seeking "appropriate
housing." Since then, around 4,017 have benefited from their assistance.
They work closely with other services support charities. SPACES is run and
maintained by the English Churches Housing Group. Emergency grants are available
for travel and furniture. Call 01748 833 797 or e-mail spaces@echg.org.uk.
Or visit: www.spaces.org.uk
Galleries
This former art gallery in Richmond, Yorkshire, also run by the English Churches
Housing Group, has been converted into 13 fully furnished, self-contained
studio flats in which people who would otherwise be homeless can stay for
up to 18 months. Since then, around 129 residents have passed through the
doors. Each person gets a tailor-made plan for independent living, covering
everything from budgeting for food and paying bills, to applying for jobs
and registering with a GP. Their ethos is to treat every person as an individual,
giving them the self-confidence to pursue a career. There are now plans to
build more accommodation in Aldershot.
Call 01748 833 797 or e-mail spaces@ecg.
 Sir
Oswald Stoll Foundation
This London-based ex-Service charity provides housing, care and support
for mentally and physically disabled ex-servicemen and women, including
those who have a background of homelessness or who are considered vulnerable.
Call 0207 385 2110, or e-mail info@oswaldstoll.org.uk
 formerly 
Veterans Aid (Formerly EFC - the Ex-Service Fellowship Centres)
The objective of Veterans Aid is to relieve distress among ex-Service men and women of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army, Royal Air Force and the Merchant Navy and their widows or widowers who are in crisis.
We provide direct and immediate help to those in need through:
Provision of hostel or other accommodation for the homeless.
Financial assistance through small grants.
Provision of meal vouchers, new clothing, footwear and travel warrants.
Practical advice on benefits, employment, legal and personal problems.
Provision of professional help with alcohol or substance abuse issues.
Veterans Aid,
40 Buckingham Palace Road ,
London ,
SW1W 0RE
Tel: 020 7828 2468
Fax: 020 7630 6784
Web Site: http://www.veterans-aid.net
Email: info@veterans-aid.net
 Joint
Service Housing Advice Office (JSHAO)
The JSHAO provides housing information and advice and in some cases helps
place Service personnel and their dependants in suitable civilian accommodation.
JSHAO will provide information on the alternative options which fit individual
needs. For example the JSHAO will give details of:
- Local Authority addresses, websites and eligibility criteria for council
housing.
- Housing Association rental and Low Cost Home Ownership schemes.
- Details of local Estate Agents, Property Management Agents and Financial
Advisers
- Any special schemes or contacts that the JSHAO may have which could generate
housing options not previously considered.
Completed information proforma requests should be
forwarded to JSHAO. Copies
of the pro-forma are available from Resettlement officers or direct from
JSHAO
Tel: 01722 436575
Fax: 01722 436577
Email: landpersawsjshaogm@land.mod.uk
Website: www.mod.uk/jshao
 Home Base
Home Base provides intensive psychotherapy and training for employment for
psychologically disturbed homeless ex-service personnel. Home Base
was formed by Community Housing and Therapy (CHT), a charity which specialises
in providing psychological treatment for the severely mentally ill. CHT
runs this project in partnership with Central and Cecil Housing Trust and
the Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation. Skills and employment training is
provided in conjunction with Project Compass. The length of stay
for each client varies between 12-18 months. Psychotherapy and practical
support is provided after clients move out, should they need it.
The Department of Communities and Local
Government have recently agreed to a capital grant to CHT of £400k towards the cost of extending the
provision Home Base offers by a further 16 flats in Southwark. Currently
CHT is assisting Homeless Link, of which it is a member, to roll out CBT
training for front line hostel workers.
All our staff are qualified psychologists
and members of: The Royal College of Psychiatrists Community of Communities’ project,
the International Society for the Psychological treatment of the Schizophrenias
and other Psychoses (ISPS) and the Association of Therapeutic Communities
(ATC). CHT runs its own training in psychotherapy which is accredited by
Middlesex University.
Please visit our website www.cht.org.uk or
call 02073815888 for more information. |
