Armed Forces Outreach Service

The Armed Forces Outreach Service (AFOS) is there to support members of the Armed Forces community, including those who have left (regardless of how long ago) or who are leaving. The service also offers support and advice to serving reservists and to family members of the above groups.

Op COURAGE: The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service

Op COURAGE is a dedicated NHS mental health specialist service designed to help serving personnel due to leave the military, reservists, armed forces veterans and their families.

The service can help you and your family with a range of support and treatment, including support with intensive emergency care and treatment, transitioning from military to civilian life, mental health problems, accessing other health services and signposting to further support.

Everyone at Op COURAGE is either from the armed forces community or is experienced in working with serving personnel, reservists, veterans and their families. You can access and contact the service by getting in touch on 0800 652 2867 or via email [email protected], asking your GP to refer you or asking a charity to refer you.

Healthcare for the Armed Forces Community

The NHS is home to a range of help that is available if you’re in the British armed forces or are a veteran, a reservist or a family member of someone who is serving or who has served.

Included amongst the additional support available is mental health support, targeted support for veterans, service leavers and non-mobilised reservists, support and information for families, guides to various NHS services, signposting to helpful charities and support groups, guides for service leavers and more.

The Veterans' Gateway

Veterans’ Gateway are there to provide information and support for both veterans and their family, and aim to act as a first point of contact for you and your loved ones.

Available to contact 24/7 for help across housing, mental wellbeing, finances and more, you can get in touch with the Gateway team via phone on 0808 802 1212, live chat, text on 81212 and email.

Also available through Veterans’ Gateway are referrals to partners and much more!

Military Charities providing support in Gateshead

There are a number of charities operating locally in Gateshead who are there to help and support veterans, reservists and families. For more locally accessible support – these might be for you!

Included amongst these are:

• The Royal British Legion
• SSAFA
• Walking With the Wounded
• Veterans at Ease: mental health support for those with PTSD
• Anxious Minds: mental health support / counselling services for veterans

Serve and Protect Credit Union

Serve and Protect Credit Union are a not-for-profit organisation who aim to improve the financial resilience of those who serve and protect by making make it easier for you to save and borrow with repayments straight from your salary.

Carers Support

For further information on local carer support groups, we advise visiting our carer support groups page which lists all of the local organisations dedicated to supporting working carers.

You can also find out more about our working carer support – including our own Carer’s Circle here at Gateshead Health.