As part of our charity’s long and close relationship with Combat Stress, we are delighted to award a £275,000 grant towards its mental health support for former soldiers.
Combat Stress is the UK’s leading charity for military veterans’ mental health with a particular focus on complex post-traumatic stress disorder. They provide a wide range of free services including psychiatric and psychological treatment, substance misuse management, occupational therapy, peer support, family support and a 24-hour helpline. Our grant will go towards Combat Stress’s core operating costs and enable them to further develop and roll out their specialist intensive treatment service (VICTOR).
Last year, 12,500 veterans benefited from Combat Stress’s help. Over 7,900 called the charity’s helpline, over 3,000 accessed its online self-help resources, and around 1,300 directly received support from specialist staff.
Robert Marsh, Director of Fundraising at Combat Stress, said:
“We’re extremely grateful to the ABF for continuing to support us, and the Army veterans we treat, with this generous grant. Their support is vital in allowing us to continue to provide our life-changing, and often life-saving, treatment to every veteran who needs it.”
Brigadier (Ret’d) Peter Monteith, Chief Operating Officer, Army Benevolent Fund, added:
“We are always proud to support Combat Stress, the nation’s leaders on veterans’ mental health, and each year we fund its work helping former soldiers with psychological injuries sustained in battle and other mental health-related conditions.”
Find out more about the work of Combat Stress here.