Blues and Royals Association

In November 2022, the Blues and Royals Association secured a grant for £10,000 under the Force for Change programme to expand their popular ‘Walk+Talk’ initiative in the Northeast of England.

In-person peer support

The project focuses on establishing a local network to amplify the presence of regular walking and social groups for Veterans and their families. It promotes regular interaction and support, all while eliminating travel and financial obstacles and discreetly addressing mental health stigma.

The initiative harnesses the power of an existing database while also extending the outreach to involve members from other regiments, creating a broader and more inclusive engagement.

The Military App

Additionally, a crucial aspect of the grant allocation was dedicated to facilitating a regimental app and a technical support service. This innovation aimed to streamline the connection process among members and enhance event management. The app can serve as a valuable resource hub, providing signposting links to connect the local community.

Honorary Secretary and Trustee and Project Manager, Chris Elliot, explained: “We now have a support suite in the app that contains over 650 carefully selected support videos, a library of over 260 support organisations and charities and signposting to the Veterans’ Gateway.

“All the groups in the app now contain an emergency mental health call line. We have also created a ‘What’s On’ events noticeboard page in the app – this means that not only have we been able to advertise Walk+Talk events but also a much larger number of public Veteran activities such as Hubs and Breakfast Clubs.

“These technical improvements now make the process of organising and advertising an event far easier and there are far more local activities available for members to easily engage with.”

Building community connections

Throughout the project’s duration, the activity groups, including the Walk+Talk club and the coffee club, have witnessed substantial growth. Impressively, the registered participants for these activities on the app have surged from 27 to 138. Membership has flourished across all activity groups, with a notable highlight being in the Blyth Walk+Talk group, which has seen a great increase from 4 to 24 members.

Chris Elliots adds: “We have seen huge success in branching out activities across more than one regiment and have worked successfully with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, who traditionally recruit from the Northeast, to build app membership in the region. Over the duration of the project, we have seen Northeast membership increase from 37 to 366.”

Feedback from walk leaders, estimate 60% of members before this project were not in regular contact with members of their regimental community.

Positive mental and physical health

Feedback from participants in Blyth, where some members are medically unable to do the walking, prompted the creation of a similar social activity to Walk+Talk but that was more mobility and physically accessible. In February, a new brand of activities called ‘Coffee Club’ was launched in two new locations within the region. These have been a great success and have seen attendance rates as high as 20.

Participants engaged in physical and social activities, as well as app users from the Northeast, can now connect locally and access a diverse array of support resources.

Out of 366 direct beneficiaries, 138 members have joined physical and social groups through the app. The initiative predominately benefits male Veterans, with additional positive outcomes observed among females, serving families and current serving individuals.

Future sustainability

The grant has made a significant impact on the ability for the Blues and Royals Association to continue to better connect and support Veterans and be able to demonstrate in the Northeast what can be rolled across a wider footprint and across multiple regiments.

On talking about the future of the project, Chris explains: “All existing activities and groups are now in a sustainable position to continue their activity and we are looking forward to growing Walk+Talk and Coffee Clubs further.”