SSAFA specialist welfare service shortlisted for Community Champion Award

08 October 2026

SSAFA’s Glasgow’s Helping Heroes is in line for a prestigious local award in recognition of its transformative support for members of the Armed Forces community in their time of need.

The flagship Scottish service - a partnership between SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity and Glasgow City Council - 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. 

The team's impact is such that Glasgow’s Helping Heroes (GHH) was recently selected as the only Scottish centre among 14 across the UK to be part of the new VALOUR support system for veterans led by the MOD – supporting over 100 people referred under VALOUR since July. 

Now GHH’s work is being recognised at a more local level, with the service shortlisted in the Champion Team of the Year category of the Glasgow Times Community Champion Awards 2026. 

If they triumph in the public vote, the GHH team will be in with a chance of progressing to the Grand Final in December. 

GHH Service Manager Sy Harty said: "Being shortlisted for a Community Champion Award is a real testament to the often life-changing support we provide at GHH, and SSAFA as a whole, to people who have served their country and the families who support them through military life and beyond. 

"More importantly it's a great way to raise awareness of SSAFA and the support we provide, helping us reach new beneficiaries and inspiring others to join us in celebrating and championing the Armed Forces community. We’re so pleased to be considered." 

To support GHH as Champion Team of the Year, vote for them on the Glasgow Times website by 19 October.