Our latest grant of £280,000 to Combat Stress will help deliver its life‑changing, and often life‑saving, specialist mental health services to veterans in need.
It will support the treatment of Army veterans and their families, improving access to evidence‑based clinical care for those experiencing mental health conditions such as post‑traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The funding will help Combat Stress continue to provide specialist assessment, treatment and support, ensuring that veterans and their families receive the help they need to recover and rebuild their lives.
For veterans like Tony, that support can be truly transformative.
Tony served for over two decades in the Army, including deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia. During his career in the Royal Military Police, he supported families through some of their most difficult moments, including when loved ones had been injured or killed.
In 2003, while deployed to Iraq, a traumatic incident had a lasting impact on him.
Reflecting on that time, Tony explains:
“I was meant to be in the vehicle that was attacked, but I couldn’t make it and was elsewhere when it happened. It left me feeling very guilty.”
After returning home, Tony noticed a change in himself, but continued with life in the Army, putting these feelings aside. He was medically discharged in 2017 and retrained as a teacher, but the impact of his experiences remained.
“I felt like I’d let people down,” he recalls. “I was having flashbacks but kept telling myself to just get on with it.”
Over time, those feelings intensified and eventually led to a crisis point. After being placed on an NHS waiting list, Tony contacted the Combat Stress Helpline in January 2024.
He was diagnosed with PTSD and began receiving online cognitive behavioural therapy and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) with one of their specialist clinicians. The flexibility of this support proved particularly valuable.
“The support worked really well for me,” he says. “It fitted around my life and I built a strong connection with my clinician.”
Through treatment, Tony was able to process his experiences and begin to see things differently. By the end of the programme, his outlook had shifted significantly.
“I didn’t feel like a failure anymore. I felt proud of myself.”
Today, Tony no longer experiences flashbacks and feels more confident and engaged in everyday life.
“I can live my life without that weight hanging over me. I’m more present and more positive. I’m proud of myself.”
Combat Stress is the UK’s leading charity for veterans’ mental health, providing specialist clinical treatment and support for veterans from the British Armed Forces, focusing on those with PTSD, Complex-PTSD, and moral injury resulting from their experiences during military service.
Chloe Mackay, CEO at Combat Stress, said:
“We’re extremely grateful to the Army Benevolent Fund (ABF) for continuing to support us, and the Army veterans we treat, with this generous grant. The ABF’s support is vital in allowing us to continue to provide our life‑changing, and often life‑saving, treatment. This funding will make a real difference to the lives of veterans and their families across the UK.”
Peter Monteith, Chief Operating Officer, Army Benevolent Fund, added:
“Supporting and enabling the mental health and wellbeing of soldiers, veterans and their families is a priority for the Army Benevolent Fund. We are proud to again provide funding that helps our long‑standing partner, Combat Stress, to deliver its much‑needed and evidence‑based services helping former soldiers with complex PTSD and other mental health‑related conditions.”