Veterans left on scrapheap
Homelessness plight of brave servicemen and women who have fought for their country
MO re and more Scots veterans are ending up homeless, charities revealed last night.
Former servicemen and women are supposed to get help to ensure they have a roof over their heads under the UK Government’s Military Covenant.
But as the country pauses today to mark Remembrance Sunday, homeless charities say the number of veterans ending up on the street has surged.
The Scottish Veterans’ Residences ( SVR), set up to offer supported accommodation to homeless ex- servicemen and women, has told The Sunday Post it is on course for a 21% increase in applications this year.
And staff at the charity fear those numbers will soar in the run up to Christmas as the Scottish winter begins to bite. The jump in
Military people often feel ashamed to ask for help
demand comes on the heels of a 35% increase in veterans needing SVR’s help at its sites in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee in 2015.
Official government data shows homelessness is decreasing – but the SVR fears the opposite is the case among veterans.
The charity says veterans are more likely to sleep rough or at a friend’s house than seek help from Scotland’s local councils – meaning it won’t show up in official statistics.
SVR chief executive Phil Cox, who has himself served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the official data simply did not tally with what the charity was seeing.
He said: “Our anecdotal experience suggests the problem is escalating. In 2015, we provided accommodation to 228 homeless and vulnerable veterans compared with 168 the year before.
“While part of this rising figure is down to our success in helping many of our residents get their lives back on track and supporting them into secure tenancies, these stats do indicate that significant challenges lie ahead.
“People who are nurtured within the military culture, based around discipline, responsibility and self-reliance, often feel ashamed to ask for help.
“Another issue is that many of the veterans we support are not living on the streets but instead flitting between friends’ sofas, staying with parents, or just getting by in temporary but often sub-standard accommodation.”
The UK Military Covenant is supposed to guarantee decent and proper treatment for veterans – but critics say it lags far behind the system in the US, where veterans jump to the front of the queue for housing and other public services.
Highlands MSP Sir Edward Mountain, a veteran of the Blues and Royals regiment, said: “The majority of Scottish authorities do comply with the Military Covenant but it has to be said that some are less attentive than others.
“Veterans need specialist help, because a lot of them will have seen things that other people have not and we have a duty to them.
“Veterans should never feel alone and if they don’t get the support they need from their council, they should turn to their regiment.
“I know that can be difficult because veterans can be very proud but there are charities which can help in times of trouble.”
Glasgow City Mission offers an overnight shelter during winter to people sleeping rough in the city.
Graham Steven, the charity’s partnerships manager, said many of the rough- sleepers it helped were veterans.
He said: “Among the people we serve at Glasgow City Mission are war veterans, those who have served their country and on return to the UK have struggled to reintegrate.
“Often what they have witnessed in combat has had a serious impact on their mental health. For some of those we work with, they found their lives quite quickly spiralled out of control, resulting in homelessness and deep brokenness.
“Our approach at Glasgow City Mission is get to know each individual and ask how we can help.
“We seek to meet people’s immediate needs such as food and advice and then connect people to our daytime programme that seeks to address the underlying issues and rebuild people’s confidence and skills.”