Veteran and CEO of Mental Health Charity Anxious Minds, who started the charity with his own War Pension and savings and has then worked for the past 5 years as a volunteer is opening the Veteran Families Crisis Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne in February 2021.
The funding for the first year costs of runing the centre will come from The Mental Health Lottery.
“Eddie says Veteran Families are often overlooked, when it comes to providing crisis, and mental health support the emphasis is always on the veteran we need to support the whole family . We will do our best to first support Veteran Families in their time of need and raise awareness of the struggles of Veteran Families. Some children of Veteran Families have had to say goodbye to so more people in their little lives than most adults will ever do in a lifetime, we shall remember them”
The Veteran Family Crisis Centre will provide mental health and crisis support for veterans and their families across the North East
Q1 Why will Veteran Families be any different than the veteran support already available?
We are not a veteran charity, we are a mental health charity providing professional counselling and support services, with years of experience working with people in crisis and addiction. Though we do have lots of veterans working for us, including peer support workers, crisis families team, volunteers and our Chief Officer.
Q2 Who will you support?
We will support the whole family and relatives of families that have lost loved once in the service of our country this includes, women, children, and veterans
Q3 Why another service?
The suicide rates within the veteran community continue to rise. Veterans and their families are put on long waiting lists for mental health and support services with the NHS.
Family members are either totally forgotten about or put on even longer waiting lists, children in some areas waiting over 2 years for support and women from broken marriages affected by domestic violence are just forgotten about and abandoned.
Veteran Families have been torn apart and their, children are struggling to cope with the aftermath of war. We will support everybody affected by mental health and addiction issues brought on because of the aftermath of service to this country.
Q4 how do you know that you can make a difference?
Veteran Families goal is to use technology and the power of community to improve the mental health of veteran families, firstly across the North East then later the UK.
The hope is that we can provide fast access into our support network, providing both peer support and professional services for counselling and addiction. This in return will lead to families living a more productive healthier, happier lives and reduce the number of self-harm incidents and suicides in military families.
We already have 5 centres, 50+ councillors and psychotherapists, addiction support programme, women-only support programme and a children’s counselling service and are recruiting 50 more volunteers for this project.
Why Support This Project
Unlike LARGER Charities, who require £80 per session for counselling services. Our Charity and its projects are run mostly by volunteers, including the management team and CEO, reducing the cost of the service we deliver and providing a more affordable longer-lasting project providing more vital life-saving services to the people we serve delivered by the community they served.
What will I get for my donation?
- £20 will pay for a counselling session for an adult or child
- £30 will pay for a support group
- £30 will pay for an addiction support group
- £5 will pay for crisis support food, gas electric