FOCUS ON … The RAF ASSOCIATION
Welfare and care is the very heart of the Association, which
serves the 1.1 million people who have served in the RAF and their dependants,
from WWII veterans to current serving personnel.
The Association is a membership
body which draws together those who have served in the Royal Air Force and
provides, in its 500+ Branches located both in the UK and abroad, a spirit
of comradeship and an ethos, unique to the Association, which comes from
serving in the Royal Air Force. The Association, through it’s network of Branch Honorary Welfare Officers, also plays a key role in providing welfare and care for those who require it.
The assistance given varies enormously. It can mean anything from conversation and comradeship, to preparing and submitting application forms for financial assistance or providing advice on war pensions.
For someone with long-term needs, a respite break – either for them or their carer – may be a vital part of their welfare requirements.
The Association, with financial assistance from the RAF Benevolent Fund, runs three respite care homes - Richard Peck House in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire; Flowerdown House in Weston-super-Mare; and Rothbury House in Rothbury, Northumberland.
The homes offer short welfare breaks to any current or past members of the RAF and their families.
Supporting Service personnel and their families
The Association
is also focusing increasingly on current serving personnel and their families
in the UK and deployed overseas. Initiatives over the past year have included
support for an Internet café at RAF Cottesmore and the refurbishment
of contact houses on stations both in the United Kingdom and further afield.
The
internet cafe enables families on the base to maintain contact with their
loved ones stationed abroad and allow those in a similar situation to meet
with each other in a relaxed environment.
Similarly,
enhancing the fixtures and fittings in station contact housing has created
a homely environment for those using them.
Tracing colleagues
For all those who are or have served, RAFA has set up a
RAF dedicated website, enabling users to trace and contact former RAF colleagues,
either by name, station, year or rank. The site features biographical details
for all members, as well as bulletin boards, chat rooms and forums.
To find out more, sign up and visit www.raf-comrade-contact.co.uk
Contact Houses
The houses are allocated to any RAF personnel who need them. They can be
used for short term stays, to spend some much needed time with partners
or children and are also a good facility for families to use while
they are visiting sick and injured Service men and women on the base.
For further information call The RAF Association,
Tel: 0116 2665224,
Email enquiries@rafa.org.uk
or visit www.rafa.org.uk
- SABRE - SUPPORTING BRITAIN’S
RESERVISTS AND EMPLOYERS
- VETERANS GET READY ..........
- ABILITY FROM DISABILITY
- RBLI EMPLOYMENT SOLUTIONS
- FOCUS ON … THE
RAF ASSOCIATION
- BUILDING BRIDGES BETWEEN
CUSTODY AND THE COMMUNITY
- REMARKABLE CARE, FOR
REMARKABLE PEOPLE
- TO REACH FOR THE SKY
