SSAFA receives grant from ABF the soldiers charity

08 July 2019

11 August 2017

ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, on behalf of all the Regiments and Corps of the Army, has awarded a grant £287,000 in July 2016 toward SSAFA’s Casework service and Family Support Group meetings during 2016.

SSAFA’s casework service provides much-needed support to military veterans and their families. A network of 4,000 trained caseworker volunteers offers tailored support to help address practical, emotional and financial issues experienced by some individuals after leaving the armed forces.

The largest military case working service in the UK, our unique capability is utilized by The Soldiers’ Charity, other benevolent funds and charitable trusts to help veterans and their families. The grant award will help fund the costs of training and supporting the volunteer caseworkers.

SSAFA’s Family Support Groups offer support to families who are bereaved and those who are caring for a wounded, injured or sick loved one. Family Support Group meetings are a source of mutual support for 500 families experiencing grief and trauma and enable long-lasting peer support and coping mechanisms among group members.

In 2014 the service won the Creative & Innovative Social Work Practice award at the prestigious Social Worker of the Year Awards. The grant award will cover the cost of the support group meetings for those attending from Army families.

This support from The Soldiers’ Charity has been gratefully received by SSAFA’s Casework service and will go a long way in allowing us to ensure that vulnerable ex-service personnel and their families receive the vital financial, practical and emotional support they depend on. 

- Tegan Jones, Director of Fundraising, SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity

Aside from allowing SSAFA to provide a lifeline to those who find it hard transitioning to civvy street, this grant will also give us the means to provide vital support to grieving families who need to address and manage their grief and those who are caring for a wounded, injured or sick loved one.

SSAFA caseworkers are often the first point of contact for those veterans who are in need of assistance, so it is imperative of The Soldiers’ Charity to ensure that they are correctly supported. 

The Family Support Group provides a much-needed network for which those families in the Army community can call on for mutual support. We are only too happy to be helping out this important Group.

- Brigadier (Ret’d) Robin Bacon, Chief of Staff, ABF The Soldiers’ Charity

The Soldiers’ Charity is the National Charity of the British Army, offering lifelong support to soldiers, veterans and their immediate families when they are in need. It makes grants to individuals through their Regiments and Corps and each year supports approximately 80 specialist charities that provide practical help to the British Army ‘family’, both at home and around the world.

Since 1944, The Soldiers’ Charity has worked with veterans of every conflict and envisages continuing to support all future generations of soldiers and their dependants. Support areas include education and training, elderly care, housing, mobility, and mental health.