News & Policy

The fifth Veterans’ Mental Health Conference takes place at King’s College London today.

“At Forces in Mind Trust, we agree from an evidence-based perspective with the Royal British Legion’s call for more to be done to counter the financial difficulty some Commonwealth ex-Service personnel encounter upon leaving the UK’s Armed Forces.

A mental health toolkit, MIND Fitness, specifically designed for ex-Service personnel, is to be developed thanks to funding from the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT).

Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) has awarded funds of £183, 930 to the King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) to undertake a two-year study to examine employment and finances across the transition process as personnel leave the Armed Forces and transition to civilian life, with a particular focus on the role mental health.

A model of peer support is being developed for families of ex-Service personnel with substance use problems thanks to funding of £108,713 by the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT).

Responding to today's announcement by Housing Secretary James Brokenshire, that veterans with mental health problems may be prioritised for social housing, Ray Lock, Chief Executive of the Forces in Mind Trust, said:

Today sees the publication of ‘The UK Armed Forces charity sector: a summary of provision’ which has been produced to support the recently published Strategy For our Veterans and Consultation Paper. 

The Forces in Mind Trust has awarded funds of £78,216 to King’s College London for a seven-month follow on study into the types of mental health problems that UK ex-Service personnel present with to secondary mental health services and their pathways through treatment.

Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) funded research released today, Tuesday 22nd May, reveals that while nearly a quarter of ex-Service personnel receive unemployment benefit at some point after leaving the Armed Forces, most usage occurs in the period immediately after leaving and is short-term, with only 1.5% continuing to claim the support two years after serving.

The Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) hosted an event at La Mon Hotel and Country Club in Belfast on Friday (23 June) to launch two reports on veteran services in Northern Ireland (NI).