Supporting armed forces communities and veterans in Lincolnshire
For the It's All About People Podcast Episode 46, Alison and Caty joined Paul Drury (Lincolnshire Armed Forces Community Covenant Officer) and Andy Garner (Senior Link Worker for Lincoln City) to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day and reflect on the work that is happening in Lincolnshire to support our armed forces communities and veterans.
Paul talked about a new Armed Forces Community Directory that is available on Connect to Support, which has been created especially for veterans, service families, and those who support them. See more information about the directory below.
Andy also shared some examples of how this has been put into action to support people.
To learn more about veterans and how to support them, please also see the video link that Paul refers to at the end.
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-for-veterans-affairs
Please note: The Waddington Night Light Café that is mentioned in the podcast is actually called the ‘Beacon Café’ and is particularly for Armed Forces and Blue Light personnel. We hope to bring you more information on this soon.
The Armed Forces Community Directory
Thanks to the work of Rachel Jackson (Information and Systems Officer, Lincolnshire County Council), and Paul Drury (Lincolnshire Armed Forces Community Covenant Officer), there’s now a dedicated Armed Forces Community Directory, created especially for veterans, service families, and those who support them.
After months of research and co-production with service families, HIVEs (Armed Services community information and welfare referral service), and veterans’ associations, Rachel and Paul built a directory that brings together national, regional, and local information in one easy-to-use resource.
But they didn’t stop there. They listened to feedback from users and made it even more accessible.
And the resulting resource is already making a difference.
Recently, Paul used the directory at Lincoln County Hospital to help a Chaplain and an Army veteran create a full support plan on the spot, connecting housing, SSAFA (armed forces charity), Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and Veterans’ services.
