Practical Guides
Plain-English guides for the stuff people actually get stuck with.
Housing. Benefits. Money. Appointments. Services. Paperwork.
Coming soon
Resources
USEFUL SHIT.
USEFUL SHIT.
IN ONE PLACE.
Some of it is ours. Some of it belongs to people who know their particular corner better than we do.
The point is simple: less digging through fifty tabs, less being bounced around, and more chance of finding something actually useful.
Start where you need to.
Need help right now?
Don't sit on it because you think
Don't sit on it because you think
somebody else has it worse.
If you or somebody else is in immediate danger, call 999.
If you need somebody to talk to, Samaritans are available day and night on 116 123.
Veterans, service leavers and reservists in England can also access NHS veteran mental-health support through Op COURAGE.
From Veterans Backbone
VB Helps
This is where our own practical stuff will live. Guides, downloads, templates and things designed to help people work out what the hell to do next.
Templates & Checklists
Letters, evidence lists, appointment prep sheets, complaint templates and other useful bits.
Coming soonKnow What You're Walking Into
How to prepare, what to take, what to ask and how to keep track when systems become a bloody maze.
Coming soonAfter Service
Transition, identity, isolation, routine and rebuilding a life that actually feels like yours.
Coming soonRebuilding Tools
Confidence, identity, goals and moving forward when surviving is no longer the only job.
About Flamingo Rise →Community Resources
Some useful stuff belongs in the crew rather than on the public internet.
Members Area →
Outside help
We don't need to pretend
We don't need to pretend
VB does everything.
Some organisations already know their particular bit inside out. So if they are better placed to help with something, we're going to point you towards them.
Right help. Right place. Less bullshit.
Veteran support
Armed Forces &
Armed Forces &
veteran organisations.
NHS
Op COURAGE
Specialist NHS mental-health and wellbeing support for veterans, service leavers and reservists in England.
Visit NHS ↗ Armed Forces supportSSAFA
Practical, financial and emotional support for serving personnel, veterans and their families.
Visit SSAFA ↗ Mental healthCombat Stress
Veteran-focused mental-health support, information and treatment services.
Visit Combat Stress ↗
Housing & homelessness
If the roof over your head is becoming
If the roof over your head is becoming
the problem.
Housing
Shelter England
Housing rights, homelessness, eviction, tenancy problems and advice if you're worried about losing your home.
Get housing help ↗ Urgent housingShelter Helpline
For people who are homeless, have nowhere to stay, are at risk at home or may lose their home soon.
Helpline details ↗ General adviceCitizens Advice
Help with housing, benefits, debt, work, consumer issues and a frankly ridiculous number of other life-admin problems.
Visit Citizens Advice ↗
Money, benefits & debt
When the numbers
When the numbers
stop behaving.
Debt
StepChange
Free debt advice, budgeting help and support with debt solutions.
Get debt help ↗ MoneyMoneyHelper
Find free debt advice, check benefits and get help understanding money problems.
Find free advice ↗ BenefitsGOV.UK Benefits
Official information about Universal Credit, disability benefits, carers, housing support and other benefits.
Check GOV.UK ↗
Work & training
Jobs, skills and
Jobs, skills and
employment rights.
Careers
National Careers Service
Careers advice, courses, training and help working out what comes next.
Explore careers ↗ TrainingFind a Course
Search online and classroom-based courses to build skills or help move towards work.
Find a course ↗ Employment rightsAcas
Advice about workplace rights, disputes, contracts, dismissal and employment problems.
Visit Acas ↗
Mental health
You don't have to wait until
You don't have to wait until
everything is on fire.
Talk to someone
Samaritans
Free emotional support by phone, any time of day or night.
116 123 Samaritans ↗ NHSNHS Mental Health
Information, treatment routes and help finding the right mental-health support.
Visit NHS ↗ VeteransCombat Stress
Specialist support focused specifically on veterans' mental health.
Visit Combat Stress ↗
A small but important bit
External doesn't mean
External doesn't mean
endorsed forever.
We link to organisations because their information or services may be useful.
Veterans Backbone doesn't control those websites, their waiting times, their eligibility rules or what they decide to change next Tuesday.
If a link is broken, outdated or sends you somewhere useless, tell us.
Still can't find it?
Tell us what you were
Tell us what you were
looking for.
If one person can't find something, chances are somebody else is struggling with the same thing.
If people keep needing it, maybe we should bloody build it.