Praise for top charity

Ex-serviceman thanks SSAFA

A West Lothian man is singing the praises of a charity that helped him find his way after leaving the armed forces.

SSAFA, the armed forces charity, has been providing lifelong support to our forces and their families since 1885 and every year staff and volunteers help more than 65,000 people, from Second World War veterans to young men and women who have served in more recent conflicts.

Since announcing their partnership with digital network business Openreach, more than £ 100,000 has been raised by the company for SSAFA. Martin Cassidy is an example of a local veteran who joined the Openreach workforce after leaving the military. Martin (36) from Kirknewton, left the forces in 2014 after a 15 year career in the Scots Guards which spanned both serving and working in the army outreach team to recruit new talent. He joined the armed forces when he was 18 and was posted to Northern Ireland, Kenya, Sierra Leonne and Canada amongst other places. He also did a tour of Iraq. Martin said he found the transition from military to civvy life to be difficult and missed his comrades and the solidarity that comes with being in the armed forces.

Immediately after leaving Martin found he was unhappy. Away from the “comfort blanket” and feeling of camaraderie, he felt like he was out in the world on his own and isolated.

However, with support from SSAFA to find a new industry he soon found fulfilment in a new line of work.

And now, as a trainee engineer for Openreach, he is really happy in his new career.

He said: “I always wanted to be in the army, it was a lifelong ambition. I transferred into the army reserves and started looking into new career options. I got in touch with SSAFA and they had a programme which introduced veterans to representatives from the specific industry you are interested in and offer work experience placements. SSAFA appointed me with a mentor from Openreach and he was there to help me every step of the way. I found this hugely beneficial and ultimately this got me my role as a trainee engineer. Like the military, Openreach feels like a family – there is lots of networking and you feel like you are part of a team again.”

Director of fundraising at SSAFA, Tegan Jones, said: “The money raised will go a long way to continue support of the armed forces community, both practically and emotionally. We are proud to have a partnership with a business that encourages veterans to become part of their workforce to and forge successful, new careers after leaving the military.”

Chief sustainability officer at Openreach, Ian Hill added: “We’ve always had close ties to the armed forces community and we’re proud to say that our relationship with SSAFA is an important part of that. We provide industry leading support for reservists, employability mentoring for armed forces leavers, and we’ve actively recruited nearly 2500 veterans into Openreach since 2011.”

For more information visit www. ssafa. org. uk and follow them on Twitter @SSAFA.