BIG call-up to run £35 million Forces in Mind trust for ex-military

Monday 28 Jun 2010 @ 10:29
Big Lottery Fund

As the country marks Armed Forces Day, the Big Lottery Fund is calling on charities and forces organisations to step forward to run a £35 million trust providing support for former UK military personnel and their families.

The BIG Lottery Fund is setting up the 20-year, independent, Forces in Mind Trust to provide long-term support and advocacy for former forces personnel to make a successful transition to civilian life, including those who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Gulf War.

BIG wants the Trust to focus on addressing a range of problems that some veterans and their families can experience back in civilian life, which can include poor mental health, social exclusion, family breakdown and alcohol problems.

The Trust’s advocacy work willinclude research to improve knowledge of the issues affecting veterans and their families as well as awareness raising campaigns, including peer advice, and advocacy and support to other veterans who might be at risk.

The Big Lottery Fund has been in discussion with representatives from the armed forces, mental health and forces charities to shape the Forces in Mind programme and is now calling for forces and other charities to step forward to formalise their aspirations to establish and run the Trust.

Chair of the BIG Lottery Fund, Sir Clive Booth, stressed the important role of the new Forces in Mind Trust: “Nearly 20,000 people leave the armed forces each year. In spite of help available from the Armed Services, Ministry of Defence, NHS and a wide range of charities, there are still gaps in the support available for our veterans. Some struggle with the transition to civilian life. Problems can emerge, sometimes many years into the future, leading to mental health, family breakdown and alcohol related difficulties, among others. The Big Lottery Fund has a long history of supporting veterans and we are very pleased to be making this further investment. We have been working with the experts to find out how Lottery money might best support affected ex service people in a distinct and additional way.”

He added: “Investing £35 million into a new independent UK-wide Trust will provide funding around which interested parties can organise a succession of interventions and activities that positively inform national policy and practice as well as offering essential assistance to those directly involved.”

Tim Allan, Big Board Member and former Major in the Royal Tank Regiment said:

“I am regularly in touch with my former regiment now out serving in Afghanistan, andam all too aware of the incredibly stressful situations that our young frontline forces face on a daily basis, and of the kind of emotional and mental problems that are going to be building up for so many of these servicemen and women in future years.

“Making the transition back into civilian life from the strong family community of the armed forcesis in itself a hugely significant life changing experience, and I applaud the timing and foresight of the Big Lottery Fund’s Forces in Mind Programme in working to set up vital structures and act as advocate to help ensure that those struggling with a range of difficulties are able to navigate that vital transition towards a more positive future.”

The trust will draw on the expertise and dynamism of the many charities working in this field and it will be responsible for providing support for those working with veterans to improve their psychological well-being and that of their families.

The BIG Lottery Fund is looking for partnerships of organisations, with a mix of expertise, to come forward and formally submit an expression of interest in establishing and running the Trust. The next stage will be a briefing to the interested parties and a request for a detailed application to be submitted outlining how they intend to use their knowledge, experience and expertise to maximise the impact of the funding to improve the wellbeing of the UK’s veterans community.

The Big Lottery Fund has a long-standing legacy of supporting veterans across the UK. Since 2004 the Fund has given more than £50 million to veterans or projects that involve learning about and commemorating their experiences. This includes our Heroes Return programme that has allowed Second World War veterans to visit the places where they saw active service.

Forces in Mind is one of the new funding programmes developed by the Big Lottery Fund for 2010-2015 as part of its Strategic Framework. An extensive public consultation identified the broad areas of need that the Fund would prioritise as areas of isolation and transition.

Further information about the Forces in Mind programme can be found on the Big Lottery Fund website www.biglotteryfund.org.uk or by calling 08454 102030.


Former Forces Fact File
Veterans under the age of 24 are up to three times more likely to commit suicide than civilians of the same age (Source: Manchester University) It is estimated that more Falklands veterans have taken their own lives since the end of the 1982 war, compared with those who died in action (Source: South Atlantic Medal Association) An estimated 20,000 veterans are in the British criminal justice system, with 8,500 behind bars, almost one in 10 of the prison population. There are more ex-soldiers in prison, on parole or serving community sentences than actually serving in Afghanistan. (Source: Napo) 32% of families reported their loved one's behaviour had changed as a result of their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan; two thirds said that the change was negative or very negative (Source: Ministry of Defence) On average veterans seek help for conditions including post-traumatic stress, alcoholism and depression 14 years after leaving the forces (Source: Combat Stress) There are an estimated 1,100 homeless veterans in London on any one night, mainly hostel residents but including some rough sleepers (Source: Centre for Housing Policy, University of York) 18% of serving and former servicemen abuse alcohol, around 13% have mental health conditions and 4.8% of all British troops are affected by post traumatic stress disorder (Source: King’s Centre for Military Health Research)

Further Information

Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours contact: 07867 500 572
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone: 0845 6021 659

Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

Notes to Editors

Since 2004 BIG has given more than £50 million to veterans and projects that involve learning about and commemorating their experiences. This includes our Heroes Return programme that has allowed Second World War veterans to visit the places where they saw active Service.
BIG’s current Heroes Return 2 funding scheme, was launched by the Big Lottery Fund in April 2009 in the run up to the 65th anniversary of D-Day, enables Second World War Veterans to make commemorative visits to the Second World War battlefields where they saw action. So far over £6.5 million has been awarded benefitting more than 9,500 veterans, spouses, widows and carers.
BIG’s previous Heroes Return scheme awarded £16.6 million to over 39,000 veterans, spouses, widows and carers to fund similar commemorative trips.
The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out half the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery. BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £24 billion has now been raised and more than 330,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.

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