The story as it unfolds.
As activities begin, this is where we'll share our moments, community stories and, undoubtedly, Steve causing chaos.
WHERE DO YOU NEED TO GO?
PICK YOUR PATH.
No maze. No twenty-seven dropdown menus. Here's what we're building and how we hope to help.
01
Our Support Plans
Find out about the practical help and joined-up support we're planning for veterans once we launch.
→ 02The RV Crew
Our plans for community, connection, questionable banter and at least one unicorn.
→ 03What's Going On?
Explore our plans for public events and activities as Veterans Backbone develops.
→ 04Resources
Our planned guides, workbooks and useful stuff, without three pages of waffle before you get to it.
→
DIFFERENT PEOPLE.SAME BACKBONE.
SO WHAT ACTUALLY
IS VB?
Veterans Backbone is a veteran support initiative with a difference.
We're building a way to help veterans navigate the stuff life throws at them — support, advocacy, practical problems, rebuilding and connection.
We don't want to replace existing charities or services. Our aim is to help link the pieces together, work out what support is needed and follow things through instead of simply passing people on.
Think of the backbone we're building: support that actually joins up.
We're straight-talking, occasionally sweary and unapologetically human.
No corporate scripts. No pretending life fits neatly into boxes. We're building our approach around real people, not tick-box assumptions.
WHY WE EXIST
BEEN ROUND THE
BEEN ROUND THE
REVOLVING DOOR?
Yeah. We know that one.
SUPPORT ISN'T ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL
SAME DESTINATION.
SAME DESTINATION.
DIFFERENT ROUTES.
What works for one person might be completely useless for the next.
That's fine. Humans are inconveniently individual like that.
Explore Our Support Plans
DIFFERENT BATTLEFIELDS. SHARED UNDERSTANDING.
WE SPEAK
WE SPEAK
FLUENT VETERAN.
You shouldn't have to explain every military reference, every habit, every bit of dark humour or why certain things just make sense to people who've been there.
Let's get something straight. I haven't worn the uniform. I'm not a veteran, and I would never pretend to be one. That title belongs to those who've earned it.
But I do know what it's like to fight battles nobody else can see. To deal with systems that don't join up. To have your life turned upside down and somehow be expected to figure everything out yourself.
So when I say we get it, I don't mean we've lived your military experience. I mean we understand what it's like to struggle, to rebuild and to need someone who actually gives a shit.
Veterans Backbone is being built with veterans' experiences and voices at its heart. Their military knowledge matters. Their individual stories matter. And nobody should have to explain their entire life from bloody scratch just to be heard.
Same scars.
Different battlefield.
COMMUNITY WITHOUT THE FORCED FUN
MEET THE
MEET THE
RV CREW.
Connection. Banter. Events. People who get it.
And Steve.
Yes, the unicorn is staying.
GET OUT. GET INVOLVED. OR JUST HAVE A NOSY.
WHAT'S
WHAT'S
HAPPENING?
EVERYONE
Planned Public Events
What we hope to organise once Veterans Backbone is up and running.
See Our Plans →
RV MEMBERS
Future Members Area
Our plans for private events, updates and resources for the future RV Crew community.
See Our Plans →News, stories & the occasional rant.
Updates as Veterans Backbone takes shape, useful things we're learning, topics worth talking about and probably the occasional opinion nobody asked for.
USEFUL SHIT. IMAGINE THAT.
RESOURCES THAT
RESOURCES THAT
ACTUALLY HELP.
We're developing workbooks, guides and practical resources around real people rather than policy-language bingo.
BIGGER THAN ONE PLACE
FIND YOUR
FIND YOUR
BACKBONE.
We hope Veterans Backbone can eventually grow beyond its first local service without becoming some giant faceless machine. These are future plans, not operating locations.
Our Expansion Plans
WHERE THE NEXT CHAPTER CAN BEGIN
MEET
MEET
FLAMINGO RISE.
Veterans Backbone and Flamingo Rise are connected by something pretty simple:
Helping people move forward without pretending the road behind them didn't happen.
Discover Flamingo Rise
NO FACELESS ORGANISATION NONSENSE
MEET THE
MEET THE
PEOPLE.
Meet the people helping shape the vision. Different backgrounds. Different experiences. Same mission.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO WEAR A CAPE.
WANT TO
WANT TO
GET INVOLVED?
Interested in future volunteering or partnerships? Share an idea, follow our progress or get in touch.
There is more than one way to make a difference.
THE SERIOUS STUFF. WITHOUT THE CORPORATE WAFFLE.
HOW WE KEEP OUR
HOW WE KEEP OUR
SHIT TOGETHER.
Being human doesn't mean making it up as we go along.
We're developing the safeguarding, accountability, privacy and complaints processes needed before our services launch.
Straight-talking doesn't mean sloppy.
01
Safeguarding
Keeping people safe isn't optional.
02Privacy & Data
We're preparing clear ways to protect personal information.
03Accessibility
Support isn't much use if people can't access it.
04Complaints & Concerns
How we'll handle concerns and learn when things go wrong.
05Cookies
Sadly, not the edible kind.
YOU DON'T NEED TO HAVE IT ALL FIGURED OUT
JUST START
JUST START
SOMEWHERE.
Our service isn't open yet, but you can explore what we're building and contact us about the project.