The Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT), established to help ex-Service men and women make a successful transition back to civilian life, has awarded a grant of £130,000 for the University of Portsmouth to evaluate the impact of the Veterans Outreach Support (VOS).

It is estimated that there are close to 17,000 veterans in Portsmouth and there is evidence from clinical practice and academic research that Veterans can experience a number of problems as they transition back to civilian life after being in the Services.

The evaluation of VOS will comprise of two stages:

  • Stage 1: Will concentrate on conducting a retrospective evaluation of current service to explore its effectiveness and to identify the different care pathways experienced by Veterans.
  • Stage 2: Will include a prospective evaluation measuring effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the scheme over a 6 month period.

The VOS (Portsmouth) is a Limited Company and Charitable Trust which operates a monthly drop-in service for Veterans and their families in Portsmouth and the surrounding area, to help them with their transition and any problems that they might be experiencing during this time. The service provides immediate access to a range of Armed Forces charities and organisations as well as civilian agencies who can address the needs of Veterans and their families.

Air Vice-Marshal Ray Lock, Chief Executive of the Forces in Mind Trust, said: “The aim of FiMT is to increase the understanding of, and improve the military transition, of ex-Service personnel.  We are keen to support research projects such as this and we look forward to seeing the research findings which will undoubtedly have national implications.

For more information, please contact:

Alice Farrow at The PR Office on afarrow@theproffice.com  / mobile:  07788 540 924 / direct dial: 027 284 6955