How does Anxious Minds help Veterans?
Veterans’ Foundation is proud to support Anxious Minds with a grant of £15,000 to help fund the exceptional work they do with Veterans and their families. Anxious Minds run support centres in the North East of England that are open to people in all walks of life, and in every situation. Supporting Veterans and their families is a specific task that the charity has isolated as important.
The charity offers Veterans support through building a community around them and their families which helps to provide a sense of belonging. Having people around them who understand what they have gone through can be crucial to moving forwards. Both professional support and peer-to-peer support is provided by the charity across many disciplines. Anxious Minds provides access to various forms of counselling, creative workshops, women-only support groups, children only counselling and workshops, drug and alcohol support. These programmes can constitute a healthy chunk of social life for Veterans and their families, giving them real support and a real sense of belonging in their local community.
Anxious Minds has a Veteran Support Team which is made up of Veterans who have firsthand experience of life in the Armed Forces, on the front line. The Support Team have also lived through the transitional period between life in the Forces and life as a civilian. This transition is one of the toughest things Veterans typically go through. Many British Armed Forces personnel see and experience things that are out of the realms of understanding for most civilians. They witness horrors that civilians would struggle to imagine. Due to the nature of PTSD and Amed Forces’ structure and routine along with the camaraderie of those serving, the mental effects of going through high-intensity situations often surface once they have left the Forces and are trying to build new lives. This is often a case of making a bad situation worse.
When the structure and routine that has made up a sizeable chunk of life suddenly ends, many Veterans find themselves on the losing side of battles with poor mental health. Depression along with excessive drink and drugs tend to lead people into destructive cycles that many Veterans find themselves experiencing.
The founder of Anxious Minds served in the Armed Forces for over 20 years, when he left he was diagnosed with depression, anxiety and PTSD. He found the right support and now seeks to ensure others can access the support that they need. Anxious Minds believe that no matter how tight a grip PTSD, Anxiety or Depression has on a person, it can be managed or removed with the right support.
How has Veterans’ Foundation supported Anxious Minds?
CEO of Anxious Minds explains how the Veterans' Foundation grant will help: "We provide counselling services for adults and children and support for people with addiction issues, and well-being support through our long tum drop-in centres, as well as relieving isolation, creating a community feeling for all ages and a sense of belonging. Many thanks for your support once again your kindness is truly making a difference to our community."
Veterans’ Foundation has given over £4 million to over 250 military charities, we want to give more. Our supporters enable us to give grants, to become a supporter of Veterans’ Foundation, please Donate Today or signup to Play the National Veterans’ Lottery.
More information about Anxious Minds’ work with Veterans and their families can be found on their website.
