Talk
Start by understanding what's happening. Nobody should have to deliver their entire life story in a perfectly organised speech.
Our Support Plans
Support starts with
Support starts with
a conversation.
You shouldn't need to know exactly what support you need. You shouldn't need the perfect words. And you certainly shouldn't need all your shit together.
That's the kind of support we're building.
Veterans Backbone is currently being established. We are not yet a registered charity, and our veteran support services have not launched. We are not accepting referrals or individual support cases.
How we plan to work
No obstacle course
No obstacle course
required.
Our intention is a straightforward, person-centred process with the necessary safeguarding and assessment built in.
These steps describe the proposed service, not a process currently available to applicants.
Work it out
Look at immediate needs, existing support, relevant risks and what might need tackling.
Make a plan
Agree useful next steps. Not a twenty-page masterpiece nobody reads.
Keep going
Review progress, follow up appropriately and adjust the plan when circumstances change. Not just disappear after the paperwork.
Important bit
You can't fail at
You can't fail at
needing help.
This isn't school. There are no grades, pass marks or gold stars for managing everything by yourself.
Our future approach is intended to understand the individual, not decide whether somebody is worthy of dignity or respect.
Actual support eligibility and safeguarding decisions will follow the policies and resources in place when the service launches.
Person first. Problem second.
Want the details?
Pick the bit you
Pick the bit you
want to understand.
No need to read the whole bloody website first. These pages explain what we're planning.
For now
Contact Us
General questions about the project and future plans. We're not accepting support requests or case referrals.
Project enquiries → How it may beginReferrals & Assessment
Our proposed approach to understanding circumstances, eligibility, safeguarding and what help might be appropriate.
Our proposed process → Without the fluffWhat We Plan To Do
Practical support, realistic boundaries and what we would expect from each other.
Explore our plans → Different humansSupport Pathways
Our planned routes for practical assistance, advocacy, community and links to specialist support.
Explore pathways → No magic wandThe Reality of the Journey
Progress can be slow, messy, backwards and considerably less inspirational than Instagram suggests.
Read the honest version → Systems being systems?Advocacy
How we hope to help people understand options, prepare and navigate systems when things become difficult.
Our advocacy plans → Yes. Unicorns.The Unicorn System
Green, Amber and Red form part of our proposed way of reviewing changing support needs. It's not a judgement or a clinical diagnosis.
Meet the unicorns → Still wondering?FAQs
Answers about the project, its future services, charity status and when support may become available.
Read the FAQs →
The whole point
No revolving
No revolving
doors.
Being told to ring somebody else, who sends you to another department, who sends you back to the first one, is not meaningful support.
We want to develop a service that helps keep the pieces connected, follows up where appropriate and reduces the need to repeat the same bloody story.
We can't promise every organisation will cooperate, but accountability and follow-through are central to the approach we're designing.
Same scars. Different battlefield.
Also worth knowing
We can't promise to
We can't promise to
fix everything.
Some things take time. Some systems are slow. Some decisions won't go the way anybody wanted. And sometimes life changes the plan before you've even finished the first one.
Our aim is to be honest, work with what's actually happening and review an approach when something clearly isn't working.
These are the principles behind the future service. We're not currently delivering individual support.
No miracle cure. No bullshit.
Still not sure?
That's fine.
That's fine.
Keep exploring.
We're working towards a practical, community-based veteran support service, but it's not open yet.
If you need individual help now, please contact an established veterans' organisation or appropriate local service rather than waiting for VB.