On the 14th November 2018, the UK, Scottish and Welsh government jointly produced the first ever “UK-wide strategy” that aims to half the number of homeless veterans by 2022 and eliminate homelessness among veterans altogether by 2027.
The document, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/first-ever-uk-wide-veterans-strategy-launched, outlines a “new vision and principles” to provide extra support for veterans.
The published document identifies six key areas where support is most needed over the next ten years, with those being centred around: community and relationships, employment and skills, health and well-being, finance and debt, housing, and contact with the law. The document hopes to assess the barriers and opportunities in these areas, providing “support to each veteran, including improved collaboration between organisations, better co-ordination of services and more robust data on the veteran community.”
This comes after the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government published a statistical release, titled: “Rough Sleeping Statistics Autumn 2018, England” which showed that there were more than 4,677 people sleeping rough on a single night in England. The document also mentions that number of people sleeping rough has increased by 146 (13 per cent) in London and decreased by 220 (6 per cent) in the rest of England, since 2017.
The document defines people sleeping rough, as: “People sleeping rough: are defined as follows for the purposes of rough sleeping street counts, evidence-based estimates, and estimates informed by a spotlight street count: People sleeping, about to bed down (sitting on/in or standing next to their bedding) or actually bedded down in the open air (such as on the streets, in tents, doorways, parks, bus shelters or encampments). People in buildings or other places not designed for habitation (such as stairwells, barns, sheds, car parks, cars, derelict boats, stations, or “bashes” which are makeshift shelters, often comprised of cardboard boxes).
The definition does not include people in hostels or shelters, people in campsites or other sites used for recreational purposes or organised protest, squatters or travellers.
Bedded down: is taken to mean either lying down or sleeping. About to bed down includes those who are sitting in/on or near a sleeping bag or other bedding.”
The UK-wide strategy document produced by GOV.UK, interviewed Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, who said: “While the vast majority of veterans thrive in civilian life, we have a responsibility to ensure that any who do struggle as a result of their service - whether finding a job, getting on the property ladder or with mental health issues – get the support they need.
“The ‘Strategy for our Veterans’ is a crucial step in our cross-government efforts to support those who have protected us. By harnessing the combined reach of the UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments and coordinating services across charities, local authorities and businesses, we will ensure no-one is left behind.”
23 per cent of those interviewed were struggling to transition and relate to anyone in their civilian life
However, a research study commissioned by SSAFA and produced by YouGov, shows that “more than two in five (41 per cent) of British Armed Forces veterans surveyed have felt lonely or isolated at some point since leaving the military”. The survey expresses that 23 per cent of those interviewed were struggling to transition and relate to anyone in their civilian life.
There are countless reasons as to why a veteran may become homeless after they hang up their uniform. Welfare Officer, and former Brigadier Charlie Hobson, at Rock2Recovery told me: “There are a number of factors as to why an individual might become homeless – one of the following or a combination of some or all: not understanding that you can rely on nobody in civvy street and having to fight for yourself; your partner forces you out and then you split; not wanting to admit you cannot cope with civvy street; complete inability to forge a life for oneself without having someone organise it for you; getting out too early and not knowing anything about how the world works; not sticking up for oneself; not taking advice; going down the slippery slope of drink and drugs.”
I spoke with Alex Shaxted, a former soldier in the Parachute regiment (3PARA). Alex left the military last year after being medically discharged – we spoke over social media, and he told me of his transition into civilian life. Like the reported articles mentioned above, Alex is one of the many veterans who feel as though they have been let down and lonely since ending their service, however, was lucky enough to buy his own home with his fiancé, whilst he was still serving. “I’ve been through the whole process”, Alex says, “I can see how people end up homeless because depending on your length of service is how much money you have to spend on courses and none of the said courses have any real value, or civilian qualifications. For example, they wouldn't help pay for my barbering course as it wasn't something they endorse.
“Mental health is still a massive taboo in the army, even though it’s not meant to be. You get stigmatised and the higher ups aren’t aware of the issue at first, but once you get down-graded, it becomes pretty obvious as you can’t do certain things, like handle a weapon for obvious safety reasons. The higher ups will constantly bug you for the real reason and don't understand or take it well when you kindly say it's none of their business and end up finding out from meetings anyway, so nothing is truly secret or personal.
“They see mental health as a weakness, depending on the type of PTSD (Post traumatic stress disorder), they fully understand and respect as long as you was on tour, depression and other much more common is just seen as a load of rubbish and people can't understand why you can't just get a grip.
“There's so many perspectives to see from however my experience with all of the above was negative however other people have had brilliant experiences. An example is that I've had one home visit to check on my health and make sure I'm coping and haven't killed myself since the end of august. Considering they are meant to do a home visit or something similar every 2 weeks… that's appalling.”
From the years 1984-2010 details that out of the entire armed forces, the army has the highest suicide rate – with over 744 suicides taking place
A Ministry of Defence document published 27 March 2018 presents statistics that show how many deaths there have been amongst veterans over the past 35 years. From the years 1984-2010 details that out of the entire armed forces, the army has the highest suicide rate – with over 744 suicides taking place.
A study published by lead author, psychologist Jack Tsai, PhD says: “The high rates of PTSD throughout veterans in the past ten years make sense because all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans were deployed and many saw combat, while many of their counterparts of previous eras weren’t deployed.”
According to a separate MoD document titled: Suicide and Open Verdict Deaths in the UK Regular Armed Forces: Annual Summary and Trends Over Time 1 January 1984 to 31 December 2017, suicide rates have shown a “declining trend” since the 1990’s. A falling trend greater than that of the UK general population, The document reports the Standard Ratio Mortality between 1998-2017, showing that the UK armed forces has a 58 per cent risk of suicide compared to the UK general population. The Naval Service has a 62 per cent decreased risk, with the army having a 49 per cent decreased risk and the RAF having a 75 per cent decreased risk.
In 2003 and 2004, there were increases in the number of deaths in the Naval Service due to three helicopter incidents involving multiple deaths during operations in the Middle East, the report also states. The increase in the RAF mortality rate from 65 per 100,000 in 2005 was accounted for by the Hercules rash in Iraq in January 2005, which claimed the lives of nine RAF personnel.
“The fluctuations in Army fatality rates since 2006 are accounted for by operational fatalities in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2010, 79 lives were lost as a result of hostile action compared to 99 in 2009.”
A suicide rate of 9 per cent added to the amount of deaths amongst veterans in 2014 with a total of 68 deaths altogether. 2015 showed an 8 per cent suicide rate with a total of 60 deaths and 2016 showed a 10 per cent suicide rate with 72 deaths.
July last year brought along another published document driven by the House of Commons Defence Committee, with the latest information regarding mental health issue among soldiers in and out of the armed forces. It detailed that the number of armed forces personnel and veterans seeking professional mental health treatment has nearly doubled over the past decade – showing particularly high levels among those who served across Iraq and Afghanistan. The official figures disclosed 3.1 per cent of serving personnel are diagnosed with mental health condition, “twice the proportion seen in 2008-09.”
The British Legion, a non-profit organisation helping veterans, produced a document which states: “Homelessness among veterans has been a controversial issue since the Napoleonic Wars.” Many non-profit organisations such as The British Legion, The Poppy Factory, SSAFA and Rock2Recovery, including many more, all provide a first point of contact scheme for veterans seeking support.
So, the main problem is one of the system, where there is not enough preparation for life in civvy street
Former Brigadier and Welfare Officer at Rock2Recovery, Charlie Hobson, told me that: “The policy with mental health problems is ok and normal and be open. But sadly, there is a myth among soldiers that it is weak to own up. That will gradually disappear, but it will take time. Soldiers created the barriers for themselves because you cannot train someone to destroy the Queen’s enemies and then that individual to find they cannot do it. It will take veterans like Jason Fox speaking out to make a significant difference.
“It’s difficult, because there is no one reason as to why veterans become homeless. My personal view is that the shorter their military time the more some (25 per cent) blame can be attached to the individual. If they come from dysfunctional families then the second abandonment from the military is tough. Partners and financial worries are high up there, yet more abandonment. They go to job centres or social services and there is no compassion, no action and no one really cares like they are used to. But the military tends to concentrate on getting veterans a job, perhaps they should concentrate more on how to survive civvy (civilian) street. Lessons whilst still serving.
“So, the main problem is one of the system, where there is not enough preparation for life in civvy street. But many veterans hate living in civvy street where a friend provides to be anything but!
“It is, and always has been the armed forces job to take those who come from sad backgrounds and give them a life. That is our role. For every homeless veterans there are 100 who have been saved by the military. Long may that continue. I loved watching men with nothing become so capable and confident, it’s wonderful.”
The result of homelessness is not a one-way street, there are many variables to take into consideration when determining why a veteran becomes homeless once they have left service. There is not a single person to point a finger at and say “this is your fault, fix this”, because nobody is at fault – however it is apparent that more needs to be done to help the veterans in need, and the government and military need to expand their techniques in helping a veteran transition into a better quality of life on ‘civvy’ street. More support finding civilian jobs, a home, and stability for mental health are some of the ways in which can be improved – and this is taking effect, with the help of the MoD launching their UK-wide strategy to assist decreasing the number of veterans sleeping rough on the streets. Non-profit organisations such as Rock2Recovery, Veterans Aid and Help for Heroes all play a major role in serving support for veterans who choose to reach out to them, and by combining all of these resources, including many more, this will, as predicted by the MoD published report, eliminate homelessness by 2027.