Kirk

Struggling after service, Kirk was losing personal battles – then SSAFA stepped in  

After 27 years, Kirk suddenly faced life out in the cold. After years of solid service, civvy street proved his hardest challenge yet. 

He was just 16 when he first put on the uniform, a young boy stepping into a community that would shape the rest of his life. 

For 27 years, the Army was Kirk’s world. From the Royal Logistics Corps to the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps, it wasn’t simply a career. It was belonging. Laughter in the mess. Mates who felt like brothers. 

“The Army ran through me like a stick of rock,” Kirk says. 

When he was forced to retire in 2022, the silence that followed was overwhelming. The banter stopped. The sense of purpose faded.  

Everything changed overnight. For the first time in nearly three decades, Kirk felt alone. 

A devoted husband and father, he tried to stay strong for his family. But inside, he was lost. 

Then came another devastating blow. A phone scam left Kirk £12,000 out of pocket.

Already struggling with his mental health, he felt everything was slipping away.

When a police officer came to take a statement, Kirk made a throwaway comment about “taking a short walk off a long cliff.” Thankfully, the officer recognised the warning signs and told him about SSAFA. 

Within days, SSAFA volunteer caseworker, Eddie, knocked on his door. 

“I could see straight away what a lovely man Kirk is,” Eddie says. “He’d spent his life looking after others, now it was our turn to look after him.” 

Eddie helped steady Kirk’s finances, making sure his children had food on the table, heating in their home and the essentials they needed.

He also helped Kirk reconnect with the military community he thought he’d lost. 

When Eddie invited him to a local SSAFA branch Christmas dinner, Kirk wasn’t sure what to expect.  

He almost didn’t go. 

But as he walked into the room and saw other veterans laughing and sharing stories, something inside lifted. 

“It felt like coming home,” Kirk says. “I belonged again.”

Today, Kirk once again feels part of a community that understands him. “With these mates, I can face anything,” he says.  

Because of you, people like Kirk don’t lose their community or means to manage life’s everyday demands when they leave the Forces - they find it again with SSAFA.

When Kirk felt cut adrift, we helped him find community.

When a cruel scam shook his family, we steadied their world.

When civilian life felt lonely, we stood beside him.

Because no one should battle alone .