‘A programme to create better, sustainable support for veterans in the communities where they live’

Veterans and carers April 2023

The Veterans’ Places, Pathways and People (VPPP) programme, part of the Veterans’ Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, aims to deliver significant improvements to how veterans with mental health and wellbeing needs can be supported in a joined-up way.

It provides grants for the sustainable provision of places of safety and pathways of support across the UK. It also aims to ensure that the people who support veterans, including paid staff and volunteers, can access good quality training and support themselves.

Reflections on year one

As year one of the two-year VPPP programme ends for most of the projects involved, we’re reflecting on some of the developments, progress and achievements made so far for the benefit of the veteran community.

One of the most striking observations is the increase in the number of organisations and agencies becoming involved in delivery within the programme.

Across the 10 portfolio regions in the UK, there are 88 individual organisations funded by the programme, with a number of organisations involved in working in multiple regions, and each region having between seven and 19 funded ‘partners’.

“Partnership working is the way forward […]; you’re leveraging the skills of two or more organisations. VPPP has afforded us the ability to work with a partner that we weren’t aware of before – we’re learning from them, and them from us, and we’re fully committed to our collaboration.”
Regional Lead

Additional partners

Supporting the core funded delivery partners are approximately 251 additional organisations and agencies – ‘unfunded partners’ or ‘associate members’ – which receive no direct funding from the programme, that have become involved in the regional networks and help to support veterans and their families in a range of ways.

These organisations include registered charities, CICs, companies, government departments such as DWP and the MOD, local authorities, NHS, educational institutions, and the police and other emergency services.

At the end of the first year, there are about 339 organisations and agencies collaborating and working in partnership to deliver support and services for the veteran community through the VPPP programme.

Around 53% of these are specifically focused on supporting the Armed Forces community, and 47% bring their specialist knowledge and expertise to veteran-specific projects and services.

The number of organisations involved is likely to increase in year two, with some regions planning further active recruitment into their portfolios.

“Within our portfolio there are a lot of good, new relationships being built. We have been able to develop trust and confidence among our beneficiaries and the veteran population in our region.” Regional Lead

What are funded and non-funded partners contributing?

To understand more about why and how the regional VPPP portfolios are expanding, why these additional organisations are getting involved, what they are contributing and the overall achievements of these expanding regional networks, we spoke to the regional leads in each area to hear their thoughts and discuss some observations. Their progress reports also provide additional insights.

Overall, regional leads were positive about the effects and potential impact of the programme on the mental health and wellbeing of the veterans’ community in the UK.

They are optimistic about the legacy of the programme and the sustainability of the outcomes it will deliver, although there were also concerns about what could realistically be achieved with a two-year programme and how some services could become self-sustaining without continued and stable funding arrangements in place.

Some other key themes and observations

  • Most funded organisations are from the voluntary and community sector. It was generally agreed among regional leads that the VPPP programme has been a catalyst for greater connections and collaboration with the public sector, most notably with NHS providers (currently just under half non-funded partners are from the public or private sectors). Several regional leads commented that connecting with the NHS is usually the most challenging and takes the longest to establish, so the programme has helped to facilitate this (almost every region stated at least one NHS agency as being in their network). This is key to the success of the programme.
  • It was noted that the unfunded partners involved in the programme recognise and receive non-financial benefits by being in the network – it helps them to stay informed and receive other support and guidance to help their beneficiaries, and it is better to be ‘at the table’ than not. Outreach and engagement with the needs of the veteran community is part of their activities, and the programme enables them to do that. Expanding networks have filled gaps in provision in some regions, particularly in more challenging or overlooked areas of need, such as substance misuse, navigating the criminal justice system or male veterans who have experienced domestic violence. In some regions unfunded partners currently operate more on the periphery, although these latent connections may still develop further and become more significant in year two.
  • Expectations about the level of involvement of some non-funded partners needs to be realistic and proportionate – over half of the non-funded partners are registered charities, CICs and community groups, whose resources may not be sufficient to be involved beyond their normal activities.
  • Some of the non-funded partners would not necessarily expect payment for contributing to their VPPP network; these include police, prisons, and local authorities. For some, involvement helps them to fulfil their remit and statutory obligations, particularly in relation to the Armed Forces Covenant, including Local Authorities which often have dedicated veterans’ officers to liaise with – positive engagement here is reported in several regions. This builds on the work funded previously under the Strengthening Delivery of the Covenant Programme, when the Trust awarded £6.6 million to clusters of local authorities.

Sustainability and legacy

  • Connections (e.g., for referrals), policies and practices, and new and improved systems and processes developed through the programme – the ‘pathways’ – are seen as perhaps the most likely to continue beyond the life of the two-year funding. However, there was some concern that two years may not be long enough to have an enduring legacy; embedding at scale may take more time and investment. Indeed, for most regions, a significant amount of time in the first year of delivery was spent building relationships.

“It is probably fair to say that the biggest achievement of the VPPP programme to date across [our region] has been the establishment of some very exciting and, in the longer term, important relationships and pathways – in partnership – that quite simply did not exist one year ago.”
Regional lead

  • The ‘places’ would be challenging to sustain without continued funding, particularly during the cost-of-living crisis. ASDIC (Association of Service Drop-In Centres) is funded and involved in the programme on a national level with the aim of supporting and strengthening the ‘bottom-up’ and informal, but no less professional, drop-in centre movement, although both these venues and those that provide a greater level of treatment and engagement to veterans need sustained financial investment.

“Woody’s Lodge has been my parachute. My chair feels like a plane, and I’ve been shot down, but visiting Woody’s makes me feel like my parachute has deployed and I’m coming down slowly and safely.”
Veteran

  • People are the most important resource, and the least likely to be able to retain beyond the life of a grant where the role is tied to the programme. There were a few views expressed that the ‘people’ element of the VPPP programme may be the least developed in some areas at this stage, although uptake of training is reported as being good. Wellbeing among those delivering services should be important in year two and beyond.

“Burn-out’ rate is high in the [armed forces charities] sector, for both volunteers and paid workers, because people have lived experiences. It’s hard to disconnect yourself from the work; we deal with people in crisis all the time, and I don’t think we look after ourselves enough.”
Regional Lead

  • Following on from this, a key factor in the successes and developments in each region is undoubtedly due to experienced and well-connected people leading the way and making things happen. They have existing connections and networks to draw from, which is important in bringing all partners (funded and non-funded) together. Dedicated and experienced people are also important within the delivery partner organisations – case workers are vital. If funding ends for their posts and they need to move on, that experience is lost, and it is hard to re-establish. Continuity is an important factor for veterans receiving support.

“In various projects we have employed people who are on the ground supporting mental health and activities. These are new roles and have been welcomed by those using them. These resources for this project have been requested for many years but the funding has not been available for those involved until this programme. They have been able to spend time creating links between other organisations and the veteran, to enable a constant link during any support needed.”
Regional Lead

  • Many veterans in need have benefited so far from the projects and services funded through the VPPP programme and have enjoyed significant and sustainable improvements to their mental health and quality of life.

“At a time when I didn’t know who to turn to, Mission Motorsport welcomed me with open arms, helped and supported me in my darkest moments. Without the support they gave me, I would never have been able to pick myself up, much less complete a qualification which allows me to do a job that I love. The opportunities they have provided have been life changing and for that I will be forever grateful. I also have peace of mind that should I need help in the future, they will always be there.”
Veteran

Looking ahead to year two

Year two of the VPPP programme promises to build and capitalise on the achievements and developments so far. Regional portfolios are becoming more interconnected; services and referral pathways are more joined up; communication has been strengthened; new safe places delivering services for veterans have been established and existing places have received vital funding.

Accessing and engaging with previously hard to reach veterans has become that bit easier and will become more so. Lives have been saved.

During the second year of the programme, portfolio partners and the veteran community they support will also face more challenges – growing concerns about the cost-of-living crisis and its affects being at the forefront. Mental health and an increase in the number of complex cases are reported as growing challenges.

Veterans in need asking for help, or waiting until they are in crisis, is still seen as a big challenge despite significant progress in recent years. Ensuring that the support is accessible to all veterans in need, particularly in rural communities, is a concern for many. Isolation and loneliness, even in cities and urban areas, remains an issue.

But the remarkable projects, services, infrastructure and people within the VPPP programme will be at the forefront of addressing these challenges in the coming year.