SSAFA Connect expands support following VALOUR funding

04 November 2026

Thousands more veterans and military families struggling with challenges including homelessness, unemployment, and mental health issues can now seek expert support from an award-winning Scottish support service as SSAFA Connect expands to reach new communities. 

Run by SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, SSAFA Connect has delivered practical housing, health, and employability support to veterans and their families in the Glasgow area for the past 16 years - helping 592 people in 2025 alone. 

Now the flagship service is widening access to take in communities the length of Scotland’s M8 corridor, from Greenock in the West to Edinburgh in the East, expanding capacity to support almost a thousand more veterans and Forces families per year for the next three years. 

Earlier this year SSAFA Connect (formerly Glasgow’s Helping Heroes) was awarded nearly £1 million in Ministry of Defence funding from VALOUR, the UK-wide support system for veterans. The funding, administered by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, makes SSAFA Connect a VALOUR-recognised centre and enables the team, with support from partners the Defence Medical Welfare Service (DMWS) and Glasgow Central Citizens Advice Bureau, to work with clients in locations outside Greater Glasgow for the first time - including Greenock, Clydebank, Dumbarton, Airdrie, Bathgate, and Edinburgh. 

As a VALOUR recognised centre, SSAFA Connect will be able to reach more veterans like Bryony:

After serving her country in the RAF, Bryony found herself homeless following relationship breakdown. Hundreds of miles from family and friends, she struggled on alone at first - booking into a cheap hotel and walking an hour each way to work to save money. But she knew she needed help. 

When she walked into SSAFA Connect, Bryony was welcomed with open arms, a hot cup of tea, and a listening ear. 

She was introduced to Sy, who secured funding to cover her bus fares to work and set about finding her more permanent accommodation. With Sy’s help, Bryony was allocated a council flat. Finally, she had a place she could call home, start afresh, and begin to hope for the future. 

She said: “Now I’m settled in a lovely little cosy flat with the most epic friends around me; I have the best support network I have ever had. If it wasn't for SSAFA I wouldn't have everything and everyone I have now. Everything has changed for me.” 

Sy Harty, Service Manager at SSAFA Connect, said: “Extending our support to even more areas and reaching thousands more veterans and Forces families is an exciting milestone for our service, and has potential to transform the lives of even more people who have served their country. 

“We look forward to working with new and established partners alike to make it easier for those in the Armed Forces community across Scotland’s central corridor to access support in their time of need – because no one should ever battle alone.” 

Minister for Veterans and People, Calvin Bailey MBE MP, said: “As the Minister responsible for VALOUR, it's fantastic to see the incredible work of our VALOUR-recognised centres. SSAFA give excellent support to veterans and their families, and it's good to see SSAFA Connect expanding the reach of their services across central Scotland, which helps us to deliver VALOUR's aim of improved access to support for veterans and their families across the UK.” 

Abby Dryden, Chief Executive Officer at DMWS, said: “DMWS is proud to be working alongside SSAFA Connect through the VALOUR programme. This investment and collaborative working will enable more Armed Forces community members across Central Scotland to access timely, personalised support where and when they need it. Working together we can help veterans and their families to overcome challenges, improve their wellbeing, and connect them with the services that will support long-term positive outcomes.” 

And Gwynneth James, Projects Development Manager at Glasgow Central Citizens Advice Bureau, said: “We recognise that for some veterans and their family members asking for help with benefit and debt problems can be incredibly difficult. Financial worries can cause extreme stress, anxiety and uncertainty, affecting not only an individual’s financial situation but also their mental health, relationships and overall quality of life. The support provided by our CAB worker has made a real and lasting difference to many veterans and their families.”