Our Serving Suffolk Families Past and Present programme was first launched in February 2019 to provide dedicated support to serving personnel and their families from any of the UK Armed Forces (Army, Royal Air Force, Royal Navy), including reservists.
This included any of the following:
• single unaccompanied personnel who may be supporting a family member elsewhere in the country.
• couples either with or without children.
• unaccompanied personnel who are based in Suffolk with their family unit living elsewhere.
• families living in Suffolk where the serving person is living away, or on deployment.
However, due to a need for the support across the wider Armed Forces community, it was extended to cover Veterans and their families in November 2020.
Kate and Kirstie, the motivated and passionate team behind the service, are dedicated to providing tailored support to suit the needs of each individual’s caring role. This may include emotional and wellbeing support, advice with practical issues, as well as signposting to other agencies if required -all of which are completely confidential.
The social distancing restrictions in place for most of 2020 into 2021 have meant the project has had to adapt and evolve to stay engaged with its existing military carers, and to identify new ones. Our support initially reverted to telephone/video calls, with relevant information being provided through video calls, web links or via email.
Face to face catch ups, ‘walk and talk’ sessions, carers’ groups, workshops and social events have now restarted and we are ready to push the project further as we get back into the community and start to visit the local bases at Wattisham, Woodbridge and Honnington.
We are excited for the future, and the many ways we can engage with the armed forces community across Suffolk to offer them our support. We have already visited the Hadleigh Hive, offering Worry Monster workshops for both children and parents, and launched 2 competitions for the children of military families. We are engaged with the local schools near Wattisham, Hadleigh and Honnington and hope to hold further workshops and craft events at Wattisham Community Centre.
If this pandemic has taught us anything it’s that it is paramount to look after your own mental health and wellbeing, and we are now providing both Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid Courses to Armed Forces personnel and their families
We would like to acknowledge both The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust and The Veterans Foundation for providing the funding so desperately needed for this service, and enabling Suffolk Family Carers to continue with the project.
To find out more about the project CLICK HERE or email militaryfamilies@suffolkfamilycarers.org
