Enhancing support for Veterans and their families across the UK
The Thrive Together programme, the ambitious second phase of the Veterans’ Places, Pathways and People (VPPP) Programme is set to enhance support for Veterans and their families across the UK, with new and exciting regional portfolios of work taking place.
Future sustainability is central to the work of the Thrive Together programme – ensuring the pathways of support and networks of organisations working together will endure beyond the life of this programme.
On 21 January 2025, we hosted a webinar providing an opportunity to hear more about the programme. We were delighted to be joined by almost 180 people, eager to learn more about the planned outcomes of the Thrive projects.
Introducing the webinar, our Chief Executive Anna Wright talked about how proud the Trust is of the success of VPPP, which aimed to develop better, more joined up support for vulnerable Veterans. With a further £10 million from Treasury, Thrive Together will continue and build upon this work, with a focus on sustainability and a scope widened to include support for families.
Anna explained: “The Trust invited the regional portfolio leads to carry out an in-depth consultation in their regions to identify the specific needs of their Veteran community. This provided an evidence base from which to design a portfolio of support.
“This is a complex and ambitious programme, and we’ve asked a great deal of the portfolio leads. In my view, it was the tremendous energy and commitment to the portfolio leads that was key to the success of VPPP and I’m most grateful to them for their willingness to take up this challenge once again.”
From VPPP to Thrive Together
And what a challenge! In the initial phase of the VPPP programme, over £9 million was invested in 10 regions across the UK between 2022 and 2023. This lead to 88 funded portfolio organisations being funded across the programme.
Tom Traynor, Head of Impact at the Trust, shared some of the impressive data which has emerged from the programme to date.
“By the end of the two-year programme, there were 443 unfunded partner agencies and organisations supporting the network for strategic leads, at least 130 projects across the UK, and we estimate there were about 17,000 direct beneficiaries over those two years.”
The unfunded partner organisations included local authorities and NHS organisations. Many partners came from the voluntary sector and the public sector and not all of them were Armed Forces specific, but were specialists in their fields of delivery.
Thrive Together across the UK
During our webinar, the Thrive Together portfolio leads shared an overview of their plans for delivery and sustainability over the next two-and-a-half years. Each region has undertaken a comprehensive consultation to identify the specific needs of their Veteran community. The results of these consultations have informed the development of each portfolio’s strategic plans, the delivery partners they are working with and the projects they are funding to deliver services across their region.
Whilst all 10 portfolios have tailored their strategic plan to meet the needs of their region, many key themes emerged across the UK. These include:
- a need for better collaboration between service providers
- more defined pathways for those seeking help and support
- better understanding of the specific needs of Veterans, their families and those who care for them.
Many portfolios also spoke about help-seeking behaviour and the associated stigma of asking for help, particularly in relation to mental health.
Understanding the specific needs of Veterans
Support with transition was a recurring theme in many consultations. Darren Hickie from The Bridge for Heroes (East of England portfolio) told us: “Access to support services when transitioning to civilian life is challenging, particularly areas such as life skills and social integration. Complex systems present barriers to accessing healthcare, housing and education, and stigma exists in asking for help”.
Some barriers can be more physical, with Darren adding that many Veterans may not have access to support provided digitally, nor may they have awareness of digital services.
Consideration of Veteran culture is also vital. Linda Irvine Fitzpatrick from Edinburgh Napier University (Scotland portfolio) highlighted that Veterans have a shared language which is important to consider when reaching out to them.
“There was a great focus on connection and connectivity and having a shared language. Understanding that Veterans have their own language and own culture and how do we make sure that we can tap into that.”
Thrive Together will work to ensure that there is a wider understanding of the unique challenges and needs of Veterans and their families, putting in place appropriate, accessible support.
Help seeking behaviour
Perceived stigma can be a real issue. During our webinar, we heard from Joan Clements from Brooke House (Northern Ireland portfolio), who explained: “[during our consultation] A lot of people talked about their fear of the stigma and the trust issues relating to mental health. It didn’t seem cool to speak about mental health. And I think although this is UK wide, it’s particularly significant in Northern Ireland.”
Similarly in Scotland Linda Irvine Fitzpatrick told us: “People talked a lot about not feeling lesser because they were asking for help, everybody at some point in their lives needs help. So we needed to normalize the process of asking and receiving help.”
Addressing the stigma in seeking help will form a significant part of service provision for the portfolios, and one which is tackled by many of the funded projects.
Improving the pathways and better collaboration
Continuing with the theme of improved pathways of support, which was such an important element of the VPPP programme, all regions found during their consultations that Veterans, and those who support them, would like to see further improvement in the pathways to support.
Central to this is collaboration and communication between service providers.
Lisa Murgatroyd from Armed Forces HQ (North West portfolio) shared that many of their consultation responses still highlight difficulties accessing support.
“It’s very confusing to navigate the mental health pathways, both for professionals and for the service user themselves. And there was a common feeling of frustration of people having to repeat their story and that there is poor or no information sharing with service users and between the support services.”
In a similar vein, Maria Ribeiro from Invictus games Foundation (South West portfolio) told us: “There’s a really rich ecosystem of services that already exist in the Southwest, but knowing how to access them can be quite challenging.”
What’s more, Ian Millen from Veterans’ Outreach Support (South East portfolio) revealed that 85% of their consultation respondents in the South East did not know what support was available or how they could access it.
While VPPP improved collaboration and partnerships across service provision, these consultations show there is still more to be done. Ian added: “Working with partners has been so powerful in getting us to where we are. And I think provides us with the exciting prospect of being able to go much further together.”
Reflecting regional needs
The webinar provided a great opportunity to explore the differing regional needs represented by each of these fantastic portfolio leads. Each organisation has an important understanding of the unique challenges of the Veterans they support: from rural areas, to transient populations, to differing political landscapes.
Joan Clements from Brooke House in Northern Ireland explained: “The political and social landscape here is very difficult for Veterans, they do not disclose their status. There is a fear of being a Veteran in Northern Ireland. And there is no pride in being a Veteran in Northern Ireland. So they are less likely to engage with external agencies due to security fears.”
Debbie Boughtflower from The Poppy Factory (London portfolio) highlighted London’s lower Veteran numbers compared to the other regions, but that its Veteran population is often more diverse. This population can be transient as many people come to the capital for work, or to receive specialist health treatment. Providing accessible support in safe spaces can be difficult as well. She told us: “Although London is small and has fantastic transport links, it’s also very hyper-local. People don’t tend to leave their borough […] and people wouldn’t travel.”
Driving sustainability
Right from the outset of the programme, sustainability and legacy have been high on the agenda.
Craig Taylor from Defence Medical Welfare Service (North East & Yorkshire portfolio) said: “There’s already a focus on what happens at the end as we start delivering […] Our goal is to create sustainable support networks that will continue to benefit Veterans and their families long after the Thrive Together programme concludes.”
One of the ways that many portfolios are encouraging sustainability is by making all their research and documentation available online for others to access. Gemma Warden from Defence Medical Welfare Service (Midlands portfolio) explained: “Sustainability has been a central focus all the way through and our consultation was also designed with this in mind. So ensuring that we share our full findings and data to non-funded and all cross-sector partners to shape their support.” This approach was echoed by many of the portfolios, fostering collaboration across the UK.
Building a network of partners and support
As always, the Trust recognises the importance of good collaboration between organisations and services. We’re excited to see that each region has begun building a network of partners to help deliver their work.
Across the UK, there were more projects out there than the portfolios had financial capacity to support – a testament to the appetite for this important programme.
Lisa Murgatroyd from Armed Forces HQ (North West portfolio) stressed: “We really tried to make the funding go as far as possible to pilot innovation, address gaps and develop resources to live beyond the funding period.”
Neil Lawman from Adferiad (Wales portfolio) told us: “Through these partnerships, the Thrive Together Wales project is fostering a robust network of Veteran mental health support services that are prioritising accessibility, transformation and, fingers crossed, sustainability going forward.”
As each portfolio moves into the delivery phase, we look forward to seeing the fantastic work they are set to deliver supporting vulnerable Veterans and their families across the UK.
Find out more
Did you miss the live session? You can watch the full webinar now.
You can find out more about each regional portfolio on our Thrive Together Region by Region page.
Want to know more about VPPP? Check out the useful resources listed below.