Christmas appeal of hope

This Christmas, will you give the gift of hope to veterans and their families struggling to find a safe and comfortable place to call home?

In the last two years SSAFA's Forcesline has seen an almost 40% increase in the number of people in desperate need of housing.  Veterans and their families being evicted from their homes, and spiralling rents creating massive uncertainty and fear for the future.

Bill Grant, our Forcesline Manager explains: “I think the housing crisis in this country is under-reported and many members of the ex-forces community are facing very difficult times in terms of finding and retaining a place to live.

“We had a call recently from an 89-year-old ex-soldier who told us he had been given notice to leave the house he and his wife had lived in for 27 years. To hear his tears was crippling. We must do all we can to help those in a situation that will, very sadly, only get worse.”

So SSAFA is asking our supporters: can you help us provide hope this Christmas?

For over a century, SSAFA has been at the forefront of supporting veterans and their families facing homelessness.

One such veteran is Sergeant Dean Knowles. In 1988, aged 16, Dean joined the British Army and served across the world, including tours of duty in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

He had a successful career of 25 years, but, like so many veterans, life became complicated once he re-entered civilian life.  His daughter, who he idolises, was born, but his marriage fell-apart.  His employment became derailed by his brother's death.  Finally he found himself living in a caravan, frequently contemplating taking his own life: contemplations that almost led to tragedy.

Thinking of his young daughter Eva helped him survive, and so, in 2021, Dean contacted Forcesline.

“I emailed the (SSAFA) Forcesline team and they immediately connected me with the Branch near where I live," said Dean.

The branch assigned Dean a caseworker, who quickly helped him break down the problems he was facing, plan a route away from them, and helped him access grants to put down a deposit on a new home.

“My life is completely different now. It’s going really well. I love the flat and it's fantastic because, every time I pick Eva up, she goes mad. She'll always do the sign, “Daddy's house, Daddy's house, Daddy's house”. I'm chuffed as anything. For me, that's all I wanted. I just wanted her to have a nice, safe place where we can have fun together."

Dean's story is so similar to so many others.  Veterans who have lost hope, but who re-find it with a single call to SSAFA.

With your support we can continue to help veterans re-discover hope.  Please consider a gift to SSAFA today.