Support for Emergency Service Veterans.

Coming to the end of 2022 we never thought that we would be dealing with the Covid-19 aftershocks, still.  But here we are, and despite the extraordinary work that the GlobalGiving platform has enabled us to do through all the donations, we find ourselves still overwhelmed with need and still asking for funding donations.

Quite simply Covid has put a 'coach and horses' through all of our funding events and ideas.  We thought that we would be out the other side by now, but it is proving tougher than ever.

Our front line Emergency Services are at full stretch, and we work with them across the UK on safeguarding issues; checking elderly veterans who might need some help and who trust the fire service to check their alarms; working with them to support the homeless, the lost and confused, and of course with those attempting suicide, or who have severe mental health issues.  And as the days get shorter and darker the 'ask' on those who support us gets tougher and harder.  

How do they 'defrag'; deal with burnout; loss; and the constant trauma of dealing with the unimaginable?  And not just once, but day after day, after day?  Many of those in the Emergency Services are veterans from the Armed Forces so work well in teams and supporting each other.  However it is essential that there is 'down time' and support for when they need to 'chill'.  

We have run Adventure Weekends, offer workshops as well as the all important mug of tea and shoulder for those we support.  We are intending to run a whole lot more in 2023.  Your donations will help us do that.

Much of our essential work is invisible given that the most important element we can offer is a listening ear, and the space and time to be able to 'take time out' and talk to those who understand.

Please help us do more of this - it is so needed; help us to establish a cafe hub in London where we can support all those frontline workers who need time out, a safe space to chill, and a shoulder to lean on (and of course a never-ending supply of coffee and cake).  Such things are the gifts that you and we can bring to those who need it most.  Please help us to do so.

For example we offer confidential space for groups of Front liners to meet up and chill in a comfortable and anonymous way.  Sadly these tupes of spaces are all too infrequently available to them.  The very nature of their work, means that it is important to retain and maintain their confidentiality.... so I cannot share a story with you about the results, or the importance of the work; other than we truly do make a difference to their ability to keep on going.  Thank you.

Supporting the Emergency Services seems almost counter intuitive - surely they are supported already - after all they are our front line of crisis.  They deal with all the difficult, exhausting, crisis ridden situations that we find ourselves in and which we hope never to find ourselves in again.  And so, as is often the case, once the crisis is past we pretend that it has never happened.  But the cost to those who help deal with such situations, who clear up the 'mess' can be, and is often huge and hidden.

And when a crisis such as Covid (or rather a pandemic with - at least initially - no known treatment) erupts onto our scenes not only do those whose mission it was to save lives, step up to the mark again, but for those who cannot, frustration, fear and the effect of vicariously reliving the trauma of what they dealt with, often years ago, is nothing short of disastrous.  Which is why the 'echo effect' of crisis situations can be dire on those who were directly affected as well as their loved ones . 

And such situations can also affect those close to those who have already been traumatised (if you like a rebound effect).  Such a situation is called vicarious trauma.

During this last year we have offered support to a number of Emergency Service veterans, particularly through our cafe hubs. Providing a welcoming, safe space to meet and chat (often out of their immediate area so they cannot be identified by those they may have interacted with) is facing increasing demand.  Being able to 'take a break' and decompress is vital to ongoing good mental health and Emergency Service personnel need this in particular.

FirstLight Trust has identified a particular need for this type of support in London, so we are looking at creating a cafe hub in central London that will support exactly this identified need.  Additionally we will be looking at delivering training from here around vicarious trauma which will benefit those who deliver the support as well as those who live with it.

We will be expanding this project to encompass support for this London cafe hub which we hope to have operational by the end of 2023.  Please help us do this by supporting this project.