Charity continuing to offer support to Armed Forces community in Fife

Local and national events to commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE Day this weekend may have been cancelled due to the pandemic, however a charity which helps Armed Forces personnel, veterans and their families in Fife continues to support people at this challenging time.

Like many other charities and organisations, the team at SSAFA Fife are trying their best to provide their services to those in need and have adapted in order to be able to do so while following government guidelines.

George Givens, chairman of SSAFA Fife, said: “Fife has one of the largest veteran’s communities in Scotland due its links with the Naval base at Rosyth, the former RAF base at Leuchars, and the long tradition of volunteering for army units such as the Black Watch. Fife also now has the largest Army Garrison in Scotland at Leuchars Station.

“All these links contribute to the Fife Branch being the third busiest in Scotland, and in 2019 alone our volunteer caseworkers visited 314 members of the Armed Forces Community and helped to release thousands of pounds of charitable funds to enable people to get their lives back on track.

“Many local events to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day over the May Bank Holiday weekend have had to be cancelled or postponed, at a time when people’s minds would quite rightly have been focussed on the debt of gratitude we owe to our armed forces then, and of course over the intervening years since the end of the Second World War.

“SSAFA Fife were hoping to raise awareness of our services at these local events, but sadly we now can’t, however even though local activities have been cancelled our veterans and their families should know that SSAFA has adapted and is still continuing to support the Armed Forces Community through these challenging times.”

Regular members, and veterans, of the Armed Forces community who need advice or assistance at this time can still contact the local branch of SSAFA, which is based in Hunter Street, Kirkcaldy.

They can be contacted by phone on 01592 263714 or by email at [email protected].

The branch secretary can also be reached on 07422339244.

SSAFA was established in 1885 and its aims have remained unchanged for the past 135 years - to relieve need, suffering and distress among the Armed Forces, veterans and their families, in order to support their independence and dignity.