CAPS Independent Advocacy – Veterans Collective Advocacy

During the first three months of our new Veterans workers being in post they have been extremely busy! During May Steven visited and talked to:

The Lothian Veterans Centre, PTSD resolutions, Blesma, VE celebration Napier University, Glen Almond Veterans walk, Forces Children Scotland, Vector 24, Veterans Scotland, Councillor Ronnie Proctor (SSAFA Angus, Veterans Housing Scotland and Black Watch committee), SSAFA Glasgow, Mark Ferguson (Survivor Support and Veterans Mental Health Scottish Government) Duns Breakfast club and whilst visiting Community Veterans Support in Govan and speaking to the veterans there they invited him to use their space to host the first Veterans Advisory Group meeting!

Moving into June more visits and many more conversations with veterans and organisations. This month Steven spread his travelling wings even more and was able to visit or chat to: Royal Marines Association, Defence Gardens, The Journey, SSAFA Helensburgh, Cyrenians, SACRO, Linwood Walled Gardens, Rock to Recovery, Veterans Community Café Edinburgh, Kari McGhee (NHS Highland) Musselburgh Breakfast Club, HMP Perth, Stand Easy, Combat Stress, Aberdeen Council Veteran stakeholders quarterly meeting and a visit to Spean Bridge to the Commando Foundation Team for the launch of their new museum where he connected with many veterans and their families.

With a picture building up of the geography of veterans across Scotland and some important links made in the Grampian region Steven embarked upon his first of several planned ‘area visits’.

In July Steven made a 5 day trip to Aberdeen and was able to meet and chat with lots of veterans organisations, allied groups and veterans across the region.

He visited the Aberdeen Breakfast Club held at the Ghillies Lair Harvester, The Banchory Breakfast Club at the Royal British Legion where Bob, a 100-year-old veteran, was in attendance and drew admiration from many. Deeside Breakfast club, OP Cairngorm, Gordon Barracks for a meeting with SSAFA and Poppy Scotland representatives along with a performance from the 6th and 7th Scots Pipe Band! He also visited Erskine Activity Centre in Forres. At the Station Hotel in Aberdeen, he joined the Sight Scotland Veterans group, composed mainly of older veterans. Finally, he met with Dr Zoe Morrison from NHS Grampian.

In all of his travels Steven has interacted with 180 veterans so far and has been listening to their stories and planning our first Collective Advocacy Advisory Group meeting. This will be an opportunity for people to come together to discuss what is important to them living as veterans in Scotland. The meeting will take place on the 28th of August at the Pearce Institute in Govan and will be open to people to join both in person and remotely online. So far we have 40 people who have confirmed that they would like to join in person and many more who are interested n joining online. We will be promoting this more over the next few weeks and hope to have a great event gathering the voices of Scotland’s veterans about what is important to them, what works and what can be improved.

Next order of business for Steven, as well as planning meeting number two of four in a different region of Scotland to ensure that as many people as possible have the opportunity to attend a meeting in person, he will be moving his eye to organisations and groups in the West of Scotland and in the Highlands. He will also be working too seek out those veterans that aren’t connected with services. He plans to do lots of ‘feet on the ground’ promotion in community settings that everybody uses – GP practices, community centres, libraries and sports centres and hopes. He will also use the contacts he has already made throughout Scotland with support from partners in the SVWA.

Whilst all of this work has been going on our Veterans In Prison Worker, Stephanie Morrison, has been establishing her presence in several of Scotland’s prisons for this exciting piece of work.

Whilst this has been a very different prospect we have been visiting, chatting and establishing good relationships with HMP Grampian, HMP Perth, HMP Inverness and HMP Castle Huntly, with a trial of Collective Advocacy in these facilities due to start shortly.

A visit during Armed Forces week to Perth prison, not only proved to be a very fun day, with games and presentations but also allowed us to make good relationship with veterans serving sentences here and the VICOS officer in the facility.

A productive meeting with Perth Governor, Lillian Burns, started a positive link with the SPS (Scottish Prison Service) and a budding relationships with other VICOS officers across Scotland.

Stephanie has been meeting with other advocacy organisations that provide Individual Advocacy in Prison and some great working relationships have been established in several prisons including Perth, Addiewell and HMP Edinburgh.

Stephanie also attended the event at Gordon Barracks and was able to connect with SSAFA who are at the start of a new project in Scottish Prisons and has also linked in with SACRO. Both partners in the SVWA.

All very exciting and that’s only the end of the first quarter!