Our organisation is a community project that was set up as a part time venture in late 2017 with the intent of providing a safe and secure location for veterans and their families to come together in an environment that would enable them to socialise in a non-clinical setting in order to provide peer to peer support for each other.

Despite Dorset having one of the highest concentrations of veterans in the UK there is, sadly, a distinct lack of veteran orientated support services in the county, especially regarding the mental and physical health side of things. Because of this fact and my own experiences, we set this project up and very quickly were almost overwhelmed with the number of veterans, and their family members, coming to us in the hopes of finding support and reassurance through people from a similar background. In July 2018 myself and 2 others made the decision to take the project full-time following several tragic veteran suicides over a very short period in our area of operations. We can’t say for sure that if we had been a full-time project at the time of these former soldiers taking their own lives that things would have been different for them, however we do strongly believe that by being open to veterans 6 days a week that we have made a difference to some that potentially could have chosen the same path. Essentially, we are saying to veterans and their families that they are not alone and that there is a whole ‘military’ family out there that will dig out for them.

Fast forward almost 2 years and we are now supporting 200+ veterans and their family members from across Dorset while being a genuine asset to the local community; together we are all making a difference. Recently we have taken over a large plot of land to the rear of our community café and have transformed it into a multi-use therapeutic area that is free for veterans and their families to use, split between 3 areas; raised allotments, an indoor gym and a relaxation/sensory garden with attached therapy/quiet room. The whole area has been designed to be of maximum benefit to veterans and is aimed at all age groups and abilities with a strong emphasis on access for those with mobility difficulties.

This has been a work of passion for all and the commitment of everyone involved cannot be overstated but the fact is that it takes more than commitment and there is always more that we could be doing. Our next big push is to raise funds to purchase mobile home/chalet on a holiday site within Dorset, to use as a holiday let for veterans and their families. Our intent is to provide somewhere for veterans that need some respite or/and are on low to zero income a place to have a small break/holiday with their families at no cost to themselves. The benefits of being able to get away from the 'real world' for a while, for mental and physical wellbeing, can not be overstated and we want to make this happen - but we can not do it without your help. We rely on donations, fundraisers and the good will of the local community to keep running and also to make concepts like this one come alive. Without your support it would be hard for us to keep working in the way that we do and we wouldn't be able to expand on what services we can provide. Your donations and general support keep this essential community project alive; anything you can spare will genuinely make a difference.

From all of the veterans and their families that you help; thank-you.

Semper fidelis.