We are thrilled to award Together Co a £10,000 grant to help provide bespoke befriending outreach programmes to the Army family.
The programmes will make befriending more accessible to individuals within the Army family and enable Together Co to map, track and support elderly veterans who may be lonely and would benefit from local Army-related events and information. Alongside this, the grant will also help initiate Together Co’s year-long programme of outreach which aims to help veterans or those related to ex-service personnel build new friendships with its volunteers.
Together Co is a loneliness charity that creates connections to change lives. It does this through its befriending, social prescribing and volunteering services in Brighton, Hove and beyond. It has helped people like Barry who served in Northern Ireland in the 1970’s. He has had recurring mental health issues since leaving the Army and has a bipolar diagnosis. He was matched with his befriender Rachel six months ago and said: “Rachel is really good for me and has become a good friend. I don’t know what I’d do without her. Since I met her I feel more optimistic, relaxed and useful.”
Jo Crease, CEO of Together Co, said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive the support of ABF The Soldiers’ Charity. This grant will help us increase much needed support to ex-Armed service personnel in Brighton and Hove. We have already witnessed some great friendships in the making and look forward to growing this network with bespoke activities and events.”
Brigadier (Ret’d) Robin Bacon, Chief of Staff at ABF The Soldiers’ Charity, added: “Loneliness is an incredibly important issue to tackle, especially now during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are delighted to award Together Co this grant to help veterans and other members of the Army family not feel so alone and to help them build exciting new friendships.”
To find out more about Together Co, visit: togetherco.org.uk