Homelessness within ex-Armed Forces Personnel - Riverside

Resettlement figures taken from SPACES and
MCTC (Table 2) illustrate that over 35% of
clients are resettled in the North. These figures
lend support to the argument that provision of
supported accommodation outside the south
of England is essential.
The largest garrison in Europe is based at
Catterick, North Yorkshire – the location for
Riverside ECHG’s The Galleries scheme. More
recently a brand new scheme with 31 flats has
been built on land at Catterick Garrison gifted
by the MoD to replace The Galleries. This new
scheme, called The Beacon, offers additional
facilities such as a gym, IT suite and health
care as well as a training bakery and coffee
point designed to introduce individuals back
into the world of civilian work and allowing
them to develop further marketable skills in
a supportive environment.
A past criticism of the scheme at Catterick is
that a lack of work in the area makes it difficult
for clients to move on into independent living
nearby (Gerard, 2005). The new training
bakery and other initiatives at The Beacon
should ensure this is no longer the case.
In addition to the Mike Jackson House scheme
in Aldershot, Riverside ECHG aims to offer
supported housing to ex-Service Personnel
close to garrisons across the UK. Many military
bases are situated in rural areas, which in itself
poses a unique challenge when providing
support. Due to the high likelihood of reduced
infrastructure and fewer clients there may be
limited service provision in these areas (Bevan
& Rugg, 2006). One solution to these issues is
the use of dispersed accommodation and
floating support workers (Bevan & Rugg, 2006;
Briheim-Crookall, 2007). Riverside ECHG has a
long history of delivering successful and
effective floating support and dispersed
accommodation services across England.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is aware of
the need to simplify the way that ex-Service
Personnel can gain access to support and has
set initiatives in place to attempt to rectify this
problem. Veterans UK is an executive agency
of the MoD, which sets out to be a one stop
resource for ex-Services Personnel to guide
them to agencies that can offer support and
advice about a range of topics. The service is
made up of a website, an email service and a
telephone helpline. Established in 1992, the
Joint Service Housing Advice Office (JSHAO)
is a further initiative by the MoD to provide
civilian housing advice to Service Personnel.
The JSHAO conducts ‘Housing Options’
briefings around the bases in the United
Kingdom, Germany, Cyprus and Gibraltar.
These briefings are designed to inform Service
Personnel of the housing options open to them
as they leave Services accommodation. Within
the briefings the needs of single Service leavers
are highlighted and there is a recommendation
to contact SPACES for help.
Area SPACES MCTC Total % of total clients resettled
The North including Scotland 219 38 257 35.11%
South, IOW, Wales 294 26 320 43.72%
Greater London 35 4 39 5.33%
Midlands Anglia 100 5 105 14.34%
Northern Ireland 4 1 5 0.68%
Eastern 4 4 0.55%
Overseas 2 2 0.27%
Totals 652 80 752 100%
Table 2. Regions of resettlement for SPACES & MCTC clients March 2010 – April 2011
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