New Wales services and support packages for veterans in need
For more than 14 years, we’ve been providing dedicated homes for ex-Armed Forces personnel facing challenges in civilian life. Our 16 Alabaré Homes for Veterans across England and Wales offer a supportive environment where over 80 veterans in need can live alongside others who understand their unique experiences.
In June, we proudly joined Op FORTITUDE as partners and received funding from the Office for Veterans Affairs (OVA). The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (AFCT) awarded £1,380,214 to Alabaré under the Reducing Veterans’ Homelessness programme, allowing us to expand our reach and offer assistance to even more veterans in need.
Since this partnership began, we have seen a significant increase in referrals directly from veterans themselves or through key partners, with 32 veterans joining us through this route alone. Each veteran receives personalised support tailored to their needs, ensuring they can have opportunities to rebuild their lives. Of these, 94% are male, and crucially, 56% of them have slept rough before arriving at our service.
Our holistic approach, complemented by services like Alabaré Boots on the Ground and the Veterans Self-Build Scheme, aims to empower veterans towards successful, sustainable, and independent living beyond our homes. Part of this additional funding enables us to focus specifically on Wales, an area with a high demand for veteran support. We’re developing other services to address critical needs in the region.
Historically, many of those (69%) coming into our service state that they need support with their mental health, while 31% described themselves as wounded in action. For this reason, in Wales, AFCT has provided us with additional funding to trial a collaborative approach to empowering veterans to have a healthy, fulfilled life. We are collaborating with Defence Medical Welfare teams to support veterans in improving their mental and physical wellbeing, ensuring they receive priority treatment when necessary. Additionally, our new social mobility coaching roles aim to enhance veterans’ resilience and engagement within their communities and develop healthy lifestyle choices and knowledge, ultimately reducing the risks associated with the reoccurrence of homelessness.
To ensure our efforts and those of partner organisations in the wider area align effectively with the needs of veterans, we’re actively gathering feedback and refining the services available to veterans in Wales. This has included appointing a new operations manager for veterans in Wales and an evaluation officer who will drive the research and make new, broader connections with all the support networks in the area.
We’re also thrilled to announce the development of a new Veteran Self-Build Scheme in Caerphilly, Cardiff—the first of its kind in Wales. This initiative marks a significant step forward in our mission to provide comprehensive support to veterans across Wales. We are actively seeking new applications, so please do follow the links to get involved.
Mark’s Story
Mark came to Alabaré Homes for Veterans as he sadly found himself homeless after leaving the Army. Through Op FORTITUDE, he was placed in temporary accommodation for a couple of nights while applying. When we called, He was checking out from his accommodation and walking to his car, where he would be sleeping for the foreseeable future.
Mark had found us through an online search of “veteran housing”. Once our team contacted Mark to conduct a phone assessment and have a short conversation with him, it was decided that getting Mark into one of our veteran’s Bristol homes was a priority.
Since joining our service a few weeks ago, Mark has enjoyed having a stable, supportive roof over his head. The team have been able to increase his benefit payments and has helped develop local connections that may increase Mark’s stability. Since joining, we are enormously pleased that Mark has secured a very good job relevant to the degree he obtained before joining the Army. Mark plans to stay with Alabaré Homes for Veterans for a couple more months while he sorts out his finances, and then he hopes to move into his own accommodation again.
We wish Mark and all of our veterans all the best for the future, and we look forward to bringing you further news on these developments over the months ahead.
*Statistics based on Op FORTITUDE referral 1 July 2023-31 Jan 2024
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