Veterans Moving Forward: Building a Brighter Future will be delivered by ARCH Recovery College (ARCH). ARCH Recovery College provides mental health and wellbeing courses and activities for people within County Durham.
ARCH Recovery College has been working with Help for Heroes Recovery College to deliver a six week in person course which is open to any veteran within the northeast.
The classes will be delivered by Veterans and Trust/Recovery College staff and its aims are for veterans to gain perspective and clarity about their life’s direction. And they will hopefully leave equipped with the tools and skills to move forwards.
Poppy, a psychological wellbeing practitioner for North Yorkshire Talking Therapies service at TEWV and now a trainer on the Veterans Moving Forward course, said: “We will be creating a safe and open environment where veterans can learn to understand the challenges they are facing and find ways to navigate their transition to civilian life effectively.”
Poppy served in the military for almost 10 years once she had finished her nurse training alongside working in the NHS.
Poppy said: “Serving our country is a great responsibility and can have a lasting impact on a person. I joined the Army Reserves inspired by my experience at the Department of Community Mental Health in Catterick Garrison.
“The opportunity to become a trainer on the Veterans Moving Forward course came up because at work I am part of the Armed Forces Community Staff Network.
I thought this would be a terrific addition to my own skill base, but I also hoped it could be another stream of support that would benefit veterans. I am particularly conscious from the work we do in Talking Therapies that a large percentage of mental distress veterans suffer with is navigating the transition to civilian life after leaving services.
The course has a great feel to it. There is lots of space to create a safe environment for openness, that in turn allows a person to gain understanding about how they may be stuck where they are in their transition to civvy street and then what they can do today, and in the future, to really advocate for themselves and prioritise their own needs and improve their quality of life.”
For more information and to register, visit TEWV’s ARCH Recovery College, call 0191 4510890 or email [email protected]