Aroundtown Magazine July/August 2022

FAMILY
An ally for veterans
facing homelessness
Those of us who have not served in the armed
forces will never fully understand the sacrifices
made or the depth of scars faced by soldiers,
sailors and airmen. But we can ensure that we
never forget the service of our veterans and
support them in their own time of needs.
Help 4 Homeless Veterans is a
Barnsley-based charity dedicated
to helping the nation’s veterans who
are facing homelessness.
The charity was started in 2010
by former Royal Green Jacket of 22
years, Tom Wood, after he found
a homeless veteran begging in
the street. Together with his wife
Jean, he made a pledge to get
as many veterans as he could
off the streets and since then the
charity has supported over 700
veterans nationwide.
Every year, thousands of
vulnerable veterans end up
sleeping rough, sofa surfing or
living in unsuitable hostels because
of barriers to accessing social
housing. They deserve better.
It’s recently been enshrined
in law under the Armed Forces
Covenant that nobody should be
disadvantaged due to being in
the armed forces. As their former
employer, the Ministry of Defence,
are obligated to provide the
resources to help ex-service men
and women access the support and
services they’re entitled to.
Under the covenant, local
authorities should be proactively
trying to find homeless veterans and
help them into housing. It is vital
to establish if a person has served
in the Armed Forces so they can
access the enhanced provision
that is available to them. But small
charities like Help 4 Homeless
Veterans are still having to pick up
the pieces and support ex-service
personnel who slip through the net.
“Two generations ago, virtually
everyone had some connection
to the armed forces. But currently
there are around 160,000 people
in the British military and 2.4 million
veterans who make up a small slice
of society. There needs to be more
education around veterans and
why they might find themselves
homeless and how this can affect
employability and relationships,”
says Tom.
“
The volunteer team can provide advice
around benefits, debt management,
accessing hardship funds, or where to
get mental health support. They’re also
on-hand to help with form filling,
creating CVs or applying for jobs
”
At Help 4 Homeless Veterans,
they do all they can to help veterans
transition from Armed Forces
environments to civvy street. This
might be by paying for emergency
accommodation, subsidising
bonds or the initial rent for private
housing, sourcing new furniture
and appliances, or paying for food
shopping.
They also run monthly visits
to ex-RAF airman Jamie Quinn’s
Lincolnshire farm for therapy which
helps veterans struggling with
mental health or post-traumatic
stress disorder.
Earlier this year, Help 4
Homeless Veterans opened their
first drop-in centre in Barnsley town
centre thanks to a bequest from an
ex-soldier who served with Tom. It
has always been a dream of Tom’s
to open a hub where comradeship
can thrive, and now Help 4
Homeless Veterans can widen their
support network to those who aren’t
facing homelessness but still need
help.
Tom is now joined by a team
of fellow veterans from the Royal
Navy, British Army and Royal Air
Force who volunteer their time to
supporting their comrades, sharing
their experiences forged in the
military and after retiring from the
armed forces.
The volunteer team can
provide advice around benefits,
debt management, accessing
hardship funds, or where to get
mental health support. They’re also
on-hand to help with form filling,
creating CVs or applying for jobs,
and can chaperone veterans to
appointments if needed. Mainly, the
hub is a place where the military
community can pull up a sandbag,
have a brew and be part of this new
unit.
Charity CEO Steve Bentham-
Bates served in the RAF for 24 years
before working as an employment
advisor for the forces’ employment
charity, RFEA, for 18 years.
Newest recruit Julie Grayshon has
invaluable experience in benefits
and housing applications, having
worked in council rents after 12
56 aroundtownmagazine.co.uk