Force for Change programme awards over £250,000 to focused Forces projects
We’re thrilled to have awarded more than a quarter of a million pounds to 28 fantastic projects in the latest round of our popular Force for Change programme.
Once again, organisations have shown us that awards of £10,000 and under can still make a huge impact on the Forces community, especially by targeting specific needs and gaps in provision.
UK-wide support
Awards spanned the UK, from encouraging more physical activity in Scotland, to addressing isolation amongst veterans in Wales. We’ve supported veterans’ radio shows in Northern Ireland; and in England, funding will help to address disruption to Service children’s communication development caused by the unique stressors of Service life.
Focused support
This year, we’ve encouraged applications that, as well as meeting the usual programme theme of local support, go further in addressing specific and compelling needs identified within the Forces community. Gaps in provision still exist, and our hope is that this funding can help towards identifying and filling them with great provision and services.
Aurora New Dawn were awarded £10,000 to support victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence within the Armed Forces community. They will use funding to encourage victims to explore the dynamics of coercive control and violence and to increase their self-esteem.
Shonagh Dillon, Chief Executive of Aurora New Dawn, explains: “The Force for Change award will enable us to support some of the most vulnerable personnel within the Armed Forces. Working with victims of sexual violence to enable them to recover from the abuse they have experienced takes time, care and specialist trauma responses. We are lucky to have been able to receive this award and hope that our interventions support sexual violence victims within the Forces to heal and move on from the abuse they were subjected to.”
Mental health matters
Veterans’ mental health has long been an area the Trust has supported. The Bridge for Heroes has been awarded £8,950 for their ‘silent partner’ project, looking at this issue among partners of serving personnel and veterans, and how they can be supported to help them to better cope.
Helen Taylor, The Bridge for Heroes CEO, said: “Despite concerted efforts to inform the ‘significant others’ of our veterans through our social media platforms, posters and our High-Definition Digital Screen, we are acutely aware that in our local community there are many people who meet the criteria for our support, but who do not or simply cannot reach out to us. Our aim is to break down this barrier and get as many ‘silent partners’ as we can to join us for kinship and tailored support where required. The Force for Change funding will significantly help achieve this.”
Loneliness is another issue we have focused on overcoming in recent times. £9,950 was awarded to Wigan Warriors Community Foundation to look at this problem among those within the Forces community who are living with dementia or PTSD.
Mike Wearden, from Wigan Warriors tells us: “The funding has allowed us to engage with a very vulnerable and deserving sector of our veteran community. We now run regular sessions, inviting veterans, some with dementia and PTSD, and their family members, to attend and share their love and memories for Wigan Warriors.”
Further funding available
There is a further round of Force for Change funding this year, with applications closing on 14 November. If you’d like to apply, we encourage you to think about:
- How you’ve identified the need for this project – is there a gap in provision?
- What specific issue you are looking to affect – what makes it a compelling issue?
- Which specific group(s) of people within the Forces community you will work with.
Head to our programme page for more details.
Sonia Howe, Director of Policy at the Trust, explains more.
“This year, the Force for Change programme has had a new added focus. We want to ensure that the most compelling needs and the remaining gaps in provision within the Forces community are being addressed. As always with such a popular programme, funding remains competitive, but we encourage applicants to take this opportunity to really hone their focus and think about who most needs their support.”
Find out more
For a full list of all awardees from this round and previous rounds of the Force for Change programme, click here.