Veterans Aid
| Formation | 1932 |
|---|---|
| Type | Charity |
| Location |
|
| Staff | 25 |
| Website | www.veterans-aid.net |
Veterans Aid is a United Kingdom-based charity that provides support to former members of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army, Royal Air Force, Merchant Navy, as well as to their widows and widowers.[1]
It operates from two locations: a Drop-in Centre/Head Office in central London (Victoria) and a residential home called New Belvedere House in East London (Stepney).
The charity's primary activities are providing services to veterans in crisis, including preventing homelessness.
History
Veterans Aid was established in 1932 to respond to homelessness among military veterans in London, caused by poverty and unemployment. The organization was originally known as the Embankment Fellowship Centre.
The charity was founded by Gwendoline Huggins, whose husband served as adjutant of the Royal Hospital Chelsea from 1932 to 1935.[2] After seeing veterans sleeping on London's streets and along the Thames Embankment, she opened H10, a canteen and recreation room for homeless veterans, in Lambeth, South London, in January 1932.[3]
In 2007, the charity was renamed Veterans Aid, and its mandate was expanded beyond homelessness to address a broader range of issues affecting veterans in crisis[4]
The charity's patron is the Dowager Viscountess Rothermere.[5]
Main activities
The charity provides crisis intervention for veterans, with a focus on preventing or alleviating homelessness. Its services include emergency accommodation, food and clothing provision, and referrals to specialist support agencies. Veterans Aid operates programs intended to stabilize an individual’s immediate circumstances and connect them with longer-term support, including housing services, addiction recovery programs, and employment resources.
The charity has a “No First Night Out” policy, where the charity will immediately provide food, clothing, and accommodation to those seeking and qualifying for its help.
Subsequent interventions can include counseling, addiction treatment, rehabilitation, debt management, and, where appropriate, access to education, retraining, or the acquisition of a new skill. Veterans are given assistance to identify employment opportunities, and, when considered ready, to source homes.[6]
See also
References
- ^ "VETERANS AID - Charity 1095308". register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 2022-06-02.
- ^ "War artist's cartoon resurrected by Veterans Aid in WW1 centenary year". Veterans Aid. 2014-12-15. Retrieved 2017-01-05.
- ^ Veterans Aid History Archived October 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "History - Veterans Aid". Veterans Aid. Retrieved 2017-01-05.
- ^ "VETERANS AID WELCOMES LADY ROTHERMERE AS PATRON". Veterans Aid.
- ^ "What we do - Veterans Aid". Veterans Aid. Retrieved 2017-01-05.