Family day out
Event brings service into focus
A specialist service that provides support for veterans and their families held an awareness event to mark Armed Forces Day.
Veterans First Point (V1P) Lanarkshire seeks to support veterans in all aspects of their lives, including welfare, housing, mental and physical wellbeing.
The free-to-use service – which is staffed by a specialist team of psychologists, psychological therapists and veteran peer support workers – co-hosted the event with the Veterans Cafe at the King’s (VC@ the KC) in Motherwell. The VC@ the KC runs every Friday at the Kings Church between 10am and 2pm.
V1P’S Dr Jennifer Ring, counselling psychologist at NHS Lanarkshire, said she hopes the positive relationship between the two organisations will lead to more exciting events in the future, adding: “The key aim of this event was to provide a space for networking and camaraderie – and to showcase all the resources available for veterans in Lanarkshire.
“V1P works in close partnership with many agencies and organisations – many of whom were represented on the day – with the shared aim of supporting our veteran community.”
V1P Lanarkshire is a close partnership between veterans, NHS Lanarkshire, the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) and the Lanarkshire Association for Mental Health (LAMH). As well as accepting referrals from across health and social care, including the voluntary sector, V1P also accepts self-referrals.
Veteran peer support workers (PSWS) are all ex-servicemen or women and – crucially – offer a first point of contact for anyone approaching the service.
Dr Maria Gascon, consultant psychologist of NHS Lanarkshire who leads V1P, explained: “The PSWS ensure that veterans see someone, from the very outset, who understands the military context and has first-hand experience of the issues involved in transition from military to civilian life.
“PSWS and clinical staff then work collaboratively, ensuring that veterans receive coordinated support, appropriate to their needs.
“People can contact us by email, phone or can just turn up to one of our access points. We will then arrange a registration appointment with one of our PSWS, where a full assessment of the veteran’s needs will be carried out and an individual plan created.”
Craig Cunningham, Head of Commissioning and Performance of South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership, is the veterans’ champion for NHS Lanarkshire.
He said: “This initiative, which sees V1P joining forces with the Veterans’ Cafe, is an excellent example of where clinical experts are working with local groups, focusing on the strengths already within our communities to deliver better outcomes for people. In this case, for people who have often have particular needs as a direct result of their service for the country.
“I would encourage anyone, veterans or their families, who feel they could benefit from this service to get in touch with V1P.”
People can phone 0300 303 3051 or email Lanarkshirev1p@lanarkshire. scot.nhs.uk,