Walking With The Wounded

Established in 2010, Walking With The Wounded supports a pathway for vulnerable veterans to re-integrate back into society and sustain their independence. At the heart of this journey is employment.

“WE RECOGNISE THE INHERENT SKILLS OF OUR ARMED SERVICE PERSONNEL AND WANT TO COMPLEMENT THESE QUALITIES...”

We recognise the inherent skills of our armed service personnel and want to complement these qualities, as well as provide support to transfer their skills into the civilian workplace. We offer assistance through our programmes to those vulnerable veterans who have been physically, mentally or socially disadvantaged by their service and assist them in sustaining their independence through new sustainable careers outside of the military. This includes providing support to homeless veterans and veterans in the Criminal Justice System, areas which are too often ignored.

The outcome? Sustainable employment, and independence for them and their families. Here is a bit about how we do this in Greater Manchester from our office on Canada Street.

Employment

Walking With The Wounded’s employment programme helps to secure positive employment outcomes for unemployed veterans.

Our Employment Advisors are embedded in veteran supported accommodation residences or with NHS regional veteran mental health teams, helping unemployed veterans to find employment and rebuild their lives. In Greater Manchester, our people work alongside the Military Veterans’ Service, based in Bury but working all across the region. Advisors help to build confidence, organise work placements, source funding for any required training and ultimately assist in securing sustainable employment. Some Advisors are also located in homeless residences across the UK in Bristol, Glasgow and Dundee, Edinburgh, Catterick, Aldershot, Manchester and London.

In the North West, our Advisors also work alongside the Veterans Mental Health Network Transition, Intervention and Liaison Services (TILS). These Advisors also offer Individual Placement and Support (IPS) to assist veterans who are unemployed and also struggling with their mental health.

In 2018, Walking With The Wounded was recognised as an IPS Centre of Excellence for Veterans by the Centre for Mental Health - the first of its kind in the world. The award recognises the IPS service provided to veterans by WWTW in both Essex and Manchester, in partnership with other local and regional military and mental health organisations.

IPS (Individual Placement & Support) helps people with mental health difficulties into employment. It involves intensive, individual support, and a rapid job search, followed by placement in paid employment, and time-unlimited in-work support for both the employee and the employer.

There is now overwhelming international evidence that IPS is much more effective than traditional approaches (such as vocational training) in successfully getting people into work.

The EQOLISE project compared IPS with services in six European countries, and concluded that IPS clients were twice as likely to gain employment (55% v. 28%) and worked for significantly longer and that individuals who gained employment had reduced hospitalisation.

Evidence has shown that getting people into paid employment:

n Minimises the harmful effects of long-term sickness absence n Improves quality of life and wellbeing n Leads to better health outcome n Promotes recovery and aids rehabilitation

IPS principles

IPS is based on eight principles:

1. It is open to all those who express an interest in work 2. Employment services are integrated with mental health treatment services 3. Competitive employment is the goal 4. Benefits counselling is provided 5. The job search starts soon after the individual expresses an interest 6. It finds jobs consistent with people’s interests and preferences 7. Employment specialists develop relationships with employers based on their clients’ preferences 8. Employment support is time unlimited; providing support to both employee and employer once employment is secured Walking With The Wounded’s IPS exforces service combines the IPS way of working with specialist armed forces knowledge. We have IPS Employment Advisors based in Manchester covering the whole of GM.

If you would like to refer a service user to us, or hear more about the service please contact: employment@wwtw.org.uk

Homelessness

For those who have become homeless a ‘wrap around’ service is provided to help veterans stabilise their housing status, address health needs, gain skills, improve employability and support them to move into independence; specifically focusing on employment but working in partnership to address any wider challenges.

Temporary accommodation is provided within Canada Street and through Stody House, in partnership with NACRO & Mosscare Saint Vincent’s and a range of housing associations. Working through such partnerships WWTW now have access to in excess of 250 bed spaces across the country.

Mental Health Support

Head Start provides 1-2-1 private therapy for ex-service personnel with mild to moderate mental health difficulties such as depression, anxiety, PTSD and adjustment disorder. Therapy is provided via face-toface and digital sessions. Evidencebased talking therapies including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR) are delivered by accredited private therapists within the ex-service personnels’ local community.

The NHS is central to ex-service personnel receiving support with their mental health, and Head Start are referral partners with the NHS specific veteran teams, therefore these teams should be contacted in the first instance. Click on the Walking With The Wounded website www.walkingwiththewounded.org. uk to download a list of NHS teams that specifically support ex-service

personnel and who accept selfreferrals. However where the NHS have been accessed and treatment is unavailable or there are long waiting times, Head Start can offer its private therapy support. All referrals to Head Start are to be received from healthcare professionals, including those in other military charities and MoD department of community mental health (DCMH) teams, and NHS teams.

Support for those in the Criminal Justice System – Project Nova

Project Nova identifies and supports those veterans who have been arrested or are at risk of arrest, to prevent further downward spiral and continued offending by supporting them back into mainstream society.

Project Nova is delivered as a partnership between Walking With The Wounded and the RFEA. Project Nova supports veterans who have been arrested and enter Police Custody. It also supports veterans who are referred by specialist Police teams, or other statutory organisations, because they are at risk of arrest. Launched on 1st July 2014, Project Nova currently operates in the East of England; the North East; the North West and South Yorkshire and Humberside.

Project Nova is operated by staff with a blend of experience from the armed forces, Criminal Justice System and charities. They are skilled at engaging with veterans to understand their experience of military service, their lives before they joined the armed forces, and their transition back to civilian life. Project Nova undertakes a needs assessment for each individual and puts in place specialist support from a network of military charities and other organisations. We then keep in touch ensuring that the veterans we support have an ongoing connection, checking in and resolving issues when they occur. In 2015/16, 56% of veterans engaged with Project Nova were unemployed. Employment can be a key factor in reducing re-offending. We support veterans towards sustainable employment.

Project Nova works in partnership with Greater Manchester Police and many organisations who refer veterans to our service.

Family Support

Walking With The Wounded now provides support to direct family members of those that have served in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces. The charity delivers high-quality direct support to those ex-service personnel and their families who are struggling, offering bespoke support plans and advice to ensure positive outcomes. The aim being to improve family life and life within the community.

WWTW works closely with other agencies by contributing to and participating in initiatives which offer opportunities for vulnerable members of the Greater Manchester community.

Our Family Support Team will arrange a 1-2-1 meeting with the family member at a time and place that suits them. During the first meeting, the WWTW Family Support Officer will discuss the situation and then produce a support plan tailored to their exact needs and priorities. WWTW deal with concerns surrounding mental health, domestic violence, finance, housing, employment, education, matters regarding children, as well as others.

If you need to contact the WWTW Family Support Team they will arrange a 1-2-1 meeting to produce a support plan – please call 0161 205 9287 or email Victoria.squires@wwtw.org.uk

National Care Coordination Partnership

WWTW and regional partners have been successful in securing funds from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust to deliver a pilot project in the North East and North West (Greater Manchester) of England. The Northern Care Coordination Partnership (NCCP) is an impactful and innovative service that can be replicated across the UK. WWTW recognise that for some services users, the route to care looks complex and often inaccessible. By providing an integrated support care coordination (SCC) service, the NCCP will ensure these individuals are provided with the breadth of care they need, as well as providing support to their families and carers. NCCP will be an impactful and crucial service to a small cohort, which is highly ‘in need’.

WWTW will work with national and regional service delivery partners, both in and outside the military charity sector, to support the veterans, families and carers who are in serious stress. We will aim to support around 225 service users during this two- year project.

The SCCs will work with the NHS, Veterans Transition Intervention and Liaison service (VTiLs), the Military Veterans Service (MVS) and the Complex Treatment Service (CTS) to ensure we are supporting the most in- need veterans, family members and their carers.

If you require more information regarding the NCCP programme, or think you know a veteran, family member or carer that may require the programme's assistance, please email the Project Manager on: Simon.lock@wwtw.org.uk.