Portsmouth’s Armed Forces Families and Veterans – help is here

This Sunday is Remembrance Sunday, a National Day of Remembrance to acknowledge and honour those who have served and sacrificed in the Armed Forces.

Hampshire and the Isle of Wight makes up one of the largest Armed Forces communities in the UK, with an estimated 175,000 people, or nearly 9% of the local population, connected to military service.

Portsmouth has a proud and prominent Armed Forces legacy, with many military locations woven within local neighbourhoods.

Mental health problems are common and can affect anyone, including veterans, serving personnel, reservists and their families.

Situations such as living with a long term/life changing injury sustained during deployment; witnessing and working through traumatic incidents; being away from loved ones for long periods of time; and then adjusting back to home life or finding employment when your Armed Forces career ends can all affect someone’s mental health, triggering anxiety and depression for example.

It’s important to get help and support if you or someone you know has mental health problems.

Beyond Remembrance Sunday itself, in Portsmouth there is a range of mental health help and support available including:

• The Portsmouth Mental Health Hub: The Hub has a team of compassionate professionals ready to talk to you and support you in accessing the most appropriate mental health help in a clear and easy way.

Anyone aged 16 and over can call the Portsmouth Mental Health Hub for self-care advice and connection to mental health and community support services. Call 0300 123 6621 Monday to Friday (8am-6pm) or chat online at www.mentalhealthinportsmouth.co.uk/contact

• Mental health facilitators: The Hub has team members located within various GP practices, and they work to identify and re-reroute people to get them the right mental health help at that first point of contact, in a clear and straightforward way.
• GP practices: GP practices across the city are Armed Forces Veteran friendly and accredited – this is another example of how the Hub works closely and collaboratively with healthcare partners to co-host events and share information.
• HIVE Portsmouth’s directory: The directory contains a variety of organisations and charities geared to support around aspects such as housing; employment; living with loss of sight or limb; and Armed Forces benefits and finance planning.

The Hub team will be at Eastney Health Centre on Tuesday 9 December for a veterans’ wellbeing morning, 9.30am-12pm. The morning will offer a talk from the Hub team as well as the chance to ask healthcare professionals questions you’d like answered.

If this article resonates with you, please do reach out for help – you are not alone.