Everton Football Club is backing a new service to help ex-service personnel make the transition from life in the Armed Forces to ‘civvy street’.
‘Live At-Ease’ is a unique local pilot programme which offers free personalised support to all ex-service personnel and their families and was officially launched at Goodison Park recently.
Everton in the Community, which runs an exercise programme known as Inside Right for veterans who are at risk of developing or who have mental health problems, fully supports the scheme to offer more help to our troops returning from the front line.
The North West of England is the largest recruitment ground for the British Armed Forces and sees the largest number of personnel returning from service and resettling. This number is currently estimated to be 6,000 per year.
The transition from life in the Armed Forces to that of a civilian is full of challenges - which can be emotional, such as dealing with an addiction,or practical, like finding employment or somewhere to live,and can take many years to overcome.
Delivered through dedicated caseworkers, Live At-Ease helps assess needs, explore options and connect ex-service personnel and their families with organisations that can help.
Jonathan Garside, Everton in the Community’s Inside Right Co-ordinator who spoke at the official launch event, said: “Live At-Ease is a fantastic new service which will complement the support already offered by the military, NHS and Everton. It is vitally important we help veterans integrate back into civilian life and gain an increased understanding of the health and wellbeing among ex-military personnel.”
Everton’s Inside Right is designed to support veterans who are at risk of becoming isolated once they have returned to civilian life, and is backed by leading military organisations including The Royal British Legion, Combat Stress, the RAF Benevolent Fund and ABF The Soldiers’ Charity and also the Football Foundation and Comic Relief.
For more information about Inside Right call 0151 530 5253.
