Help for Fife veterans with mental health issues to get back into work thanks to £30,000 cash boost

The funding from the Veterans’ Foundation will help Fife Employment Access Trust (FEAT) deliver the ‘Grow Your Mind’ programme, an outdoor-based self-management, personal development and employability course for Armed Forces personnel in the local area.

Not only will the six-month programme give veterans employability support, but it will also provide experience of horticulture and conservation at the same time as teaching techniques for participants to manage their mental health.

Duncan Mitchell, CEO of FEAT, said: “Research shows that veterans with mental health difficulties are much more likely to be out of work than their veteran peers without mental health difficulties.

“These “forgotten few” are unlikely to have their needs adequately met by individual mental health, employability or veteran-specific charities or services where need is high but successful outcomes are more difficult to achieve.”

‘Grow Your Mind’ was first piloted by FEAT back in 2019 and even though the emergence of COVID 19 hampered the project, it still demonstrated many excellent outcomes for veterans.

This Veterans’ Foundation grant will provide the funding and time required to further improve the provision from the learnings drawn from this past pilot.

Duncan continued: “We are sincerely grateful to the Veterans' Foundation and the Veterans' Lottery players to help us deliver those positive life-changing outcomes for Fife-based veterans.”

The grant is one of 50 awarded by the Veterans’ Foundation in the last round of grants, totalling a huge £1.1 million – the first time the Foundation have given a seven-figure sum in a quarter.

It means that the Veterans’ Foundation have now given over £9.1 million in grants to more than 290 UK-based military charities since inception in 2016.

All of the grants are made possible by generous donors and the players of the Veterans’ Lottery, who not only support our veterans in need, but are also in with a chance to win £35,000 every month.

To play the Veterans’ Lottery and contribute to helping many other brilliant causes just like this, click here.

To find out more about Fife Employment Access Trust and their excellent programmes, please visit: https://fifeemploymentaccesstrust.com.

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