Unforgotten Forces welcomes two new veterans partners
Unforgotten Forces, the partnership for older veterans, has welcomed two new organisations on board to expand its work with older members of the ex-service community.
Soldiers, Sailors, Airman and Families Association (SSAFA) – the Armed Forces charity and Veterans Tribe Scotland are the latest additions to the Unforgotten Forces partnership, which is co-ordinated by Age Scotland.
The new partners were announced at the Unforgotten Forces Spring Gathering held today (Thursday) in Stirling. Guest speakers included Keith Brown MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans (pictured) and Dr Beverley Bergman, Head of Scottish Veterans Health Research Group at the University of Glasgow.
SSAFA offers practical and financial support to ex-Armed Forces men and women in need of physical or emotional care. It has branches and volunteer caseworkers across Scotland.
Alisdair Johnston, SSAFA regional operations support manager for Scotland, said:
“SSAFA in Scotland is delighted to be joining the Unforgotten Forces partnership. We see the partnership of multidisciplinary functions as having great potential to support the work in helping older veterans and their families in Scotland. Potentially, it gives us all more weapons in our armoury!
"Equally, we hope that we will bring a lot to the party. SSAFA has 19 branches across Scotland; thus we provide nationwide coverage. They are contactable via our single point of contact (one phone number, one email address ) in the Scottish Regional Office (SRO). Finally, add a team dedicated to supporting the branches in their work, we would hope that we'll be an asset to our partners in the consortium."
Veterans Tribe Scotland offers creative and wellbeing events and activities where ex-Armed Forces men and women and their families can relax, have fun and build friendships. These are suitable for all ages and abilities and delivered face to face and online.
Gerry McGregor, Veterans Tribe Scotland co-ordinator, said:
"Veterans Tribe Scotland are thrilled and excited to be joining the Unforgotten Forces partnership.
"As a small organisation still developing our creative network throughout Scotland, it is incredibly important to be building strong connections with the other fantastic Unforgotten Forces partners.
"By working together this helps us all to play our part in providing the best support network for veterans and their families in Scotland.
"We hope to work closely with the other partners to showcase our unique blend of creative and wellbeing events and activities, and the positive benefits this brings. This will also allow a smooth introduction process to the UF partnership for our veterans and families."
Frank Gribben, Unforgotten Forces co-ordinator, said:
"Unforgotten Forces aims to meet the breadth of wellbeing needs across the older ex-Armed Forces community, and the addition of these partners will boost its ability to do so.
"Each partner is committed to ensuring that those supported by them can also benefit from opportunities and hassle-free support, if needed, from other partners. Bringing on board SSAFA and Veterans Tribe Scotland will enhance the web of support Unforgotten Forces offers and help ensure ex-Armed Forces men and women in Scotland enjoy the best possible wellbeing in later life."
