Veterans' Foundation award £30,000 to DMWS - DMWS
The Veterans’ Foundation have awarded £30,000 to Defence Medical Welfare Service (DMWS) towards the expansion of welfare services across throughout the U.K.
From April 2021 – May 2022, DMWS supported 1,290 veterans and 1,524 additional beneficiaries (family members/carers) across all projects. This small snapshot of our beneficiaries not only demonstrates the need for DMWS but the need for ongoing and committed funding, the Veterans’ Foundation have been regular supporters of DMWS for several years now and their contributions have allowed us to achieve excellent results for our veteran service users.
In the past year alone we have made a significant impact to the lives of our beneficiaries. Of the 1,200 veterans we supported, over 50% were assisted with a secondary care issue which includes the improved experience of healthcare, reduced anxiety and improvement to discharge plans. Over fifty veterans and their families were supported by DMWS at end of life, and a further forty-five veterans were supported with self-harm or suicide.
The Veterans’ Foundation has been set up to help fund charities and other charitable organisations that are helping serving and former members of the Armed Forces, and their dependents, who are in need. The Veteran’s Foundation CEO, Major General David Shaw says “The Veterans’ Foundation raises its money through the Veterans’ Lottery and donations. Since its inception in July 2016, it has given over £11 million through over 600 grants to over 300 unique organisations, many of them small to medium-sized and very worthwhile charities, which are helping members of the Armed Forces community who are in need. Forecasts indicate the Veterans’ Foundation will make grants totalling £4.4 million this financial year. The charities and other organisations we have helped include those tackling the challenges of mental and physical injuries, homelessness, unemployment, children’s loss of parents while serving and remembrance. We encourage you to spread the word.”
As a recipient of generous funding from the foundation, DMWS will focus on three main objectives with the view to improving the lives of our veteran beneficiaries. We aim to reduce social isolation for veterans, including arranging buddying schemes and connections to local groups, improve the ability to live independently and with greater confidence and resilience for veterans in the healthcare system, and improve the mental health of our beneficiaries by reducing mental health crisis intervention and reducing anxiety and stress.
DMWS CEO, Paull Gaffney said; “I would like to thank the Veterans’ Foundation for their ongoing support. Veteran welfare is a key component of our organisation and this additional funding will allow us to further our commitment to providing high quality support to the veteran community.”
The work we do could not be possible without funding, we thank the Veterans’ Foundation for their continued support. More information on The Veterans Foundation please visit Home | Veterans’ Foundation (veteransfoundation.org.uk)
Defence Medical Welfare Service details:
The St John and Red Cross Defence Medical Welfare Service (known as DMWS) is a registered charity in England and Wales (1087210) and in Scotland (SC045460)
Registered Office: The Old Stables, Redenham Park, Andover, SP11 9AQ
Phone: 01264 774 000 | Email: info@dmws.org.uk
Keep up to date with DMWS news and announcements via social media
Facebook @DefenceMedicalWelfareService
For more information on The Veterans Foundation please visit Home | Veterans’ Foundation (veteransfoundation.org.uk)
Published: 7th July, 2022