Army Benevolent Fund is delighted to award a £35,086 grant to Launchpad towards its work helping homeless veterans.
The charity promotes the health and wellbeing of former soldiers as a priority. Founded in 2013, Launchpad provides accommodation and support to homeless and unemployed veterans of the UK’s Armed Forces as they transition back to civilian life. It runs three houses in Newcastle, Liverpool, and Durham, which accommodate 100 veterans at a time. Many experience complex mental health and substance addiction problems, are recovering from broken family relationships, or are unable to find paid employment.
The grant will fund the costs of the charity’s Specialist Case Worker based at Avondale House in Newcastle, which will help around 60 beneficiaries in the Newcastle and Durham areas.
Major General David Shaw CBE, CEO and Founder of Launchpad, said: “We are very grateful to the Army Benevolent Fund for this grant, which will ensure we can continue to provide the support our residents need. When the veterans move into our houses, they have access to an experienced Specialist Case Worker who will help them to overcome any complex issues they have faced and move on to stable and independent lives.”
Brigadier (Ret’d) Peter Monteith, Chief Operating Officer, Army Benevolent Fund, added: “We are always proud to support Launchpad and admire its award-winning work with Army veterans who find themselves homeless and vulnerable and need specialist support.”