New awards to help ease the stress of relocation
Starting again somewhere new is challenging. Negotiating unfamiliar surroundings and finding your feet in a new community can be intimidating and stressful, especially when you have left friendships and existing support networks behind. But for many military families this is an inevitable part of service life.
That’s where Serving Families: On the Move comes in. The programme sets out to tackle these challenges head on – helping to reduce stress for service families affected by the difficulties relocation can bring.
We’ve supported a further 6 projects in the latest funding round, bringing the total number to 20 projects worth over £1.5 million! And with the second round still open for applications, there will be more to come.
Offering easily accessible information and advice, fostering stronger community links and creating welcoming spaces where friendships can grow, these projects will hopefully make every move a little easier. Ultimately ensuring service families feel welcome and thrive in their new location.
Peer led support for young people
“When you move it can feel really isolating, sometimes schools and other people don’t think about what’s happening to you”. Forces Children Scotland forum member
Young people can often struggle with building social connections and feeling like an outsider when their family relocates. They can feel forgotten when facing a move with little or no information available specifically for them.
Young Scot (YS) and Forces Children Scotland (FCS) are setting out to change that for young people from forces families in Scotland. Awarded £44,371, they will co-design a tailored package of national and local information for young people to ensure they have accessible support when settling into a new and unfamiliar location.
Young people value receiving information from their peers, and have shared that support which addresses real-life challenges and continues through periods of transition is especially important to them.
“If I’d had this information the last time I moved it would have made me feel special and that someone was thinking of me. I think it would make me feel linked to the new community and the new country I was moving to.” Forces Children Scotland forum member
Finding Your Place in Scotland will provide peer-led information on https://young.scot/ (Scotland’s national youth information website) which will signpost discounts and opportunities to make their move easier. FCS will lead co-design with young people, representing all three services across Scotland to ensure their lived experience, local expertise and ideas can be harnessed. The new peer-led content created will feature on a dedicated section on the YS website, and will be promoted to other young people in the digital spaces they use themselves, including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Spotify and YouTube.
“We’re delighted to be working together to co-design the information and support young people from regular, reservist and veteran families need when moving to Scotland. With youth-led content, practical information and wellbeing resources, we’ll help them settle in, feel at home and thrive within their new communities.” Steven Sweeney (Forces Children Scotland) and Kirsten Urquhart (Young Scot)
Connecting with local community
Community is key to settling into a new location – knowing where to turn and feeling welcome helps to rebuild vital social connections and support systems, helping to create a feeling of belonging.
In Portsmouth, The Parenting Network (TPN) are working to ensure relocating military families feel genuinely welcomed and integrated into the local community. Joining Forces supports military families relocating or deployed in Portsmouth by offering advice, social connection, and integration into the wider community.
Vicky Chapter, Fundraising Manager at TPN told us “We are so delighted that through this funding, The Parenting Network are able to support more forces families who are relocating or deployed in Portsmouth, offering advice, social connection, and integration into the wider community.”
For TPN, listening to the families they work with is vital so they can gain a better understanding of the needs and challenges locally. Following a relocation, many families come to them with a need for information, advice and support. They also know that military families can struggle to connect with civilian communities.
By building trusted relationships in forces environments, Joining Forces will serve as a bridge to local community opportunities, helping families feel connected beyond forces-specific services when they need it most. Led by a TPN Outreach Coordinator, support will be flexible and family-led, offering advice, emotional support and practical signposting into TPN’s existing programmes and external services.
Vicky explains “At TPN we pride ourselves in bringing people together, in safe, welcoming & inclusive spaces. We want all local families to build those essential peer networks in the Portsmouth community and have access to a wealth of opportunities and services to improve their family lives and wellbeing.”
Find out more
Want to know more about the funded projects? Take a look at our full list of all awardees from this round and previous rounds of the Serving Families: On the Move programme.
Are you working with military families affected by relocation challenges? There’s still time to get an application in for round two – visit our Serving Families: On the Move programme page for the full details. Applications need to be submitted by 17 December 2025.