Eight incredible volunteers who support military veterans have received free mental health first aid training thanks to the RiskSTOP Group.
Peter Larkum (4th from left) with the Veterans Hub volunteer Mental Health First Aiders
The Weymouth Veterans Hub is a community project set up 5 years ago to provide a safe and secure location for veterans and their families to come together. The project was founded by former rifleman Andy Price who believes passionately in ‘semper fidelis’ or ‘always being loyal’, which for Andy means veterans supporting veterans.
At RiskSTOP Group our team has benefited tremendously from a qualification developed by Mental Health First Aid England, which teaches how to identify, understand and help someone who may be experiencing mental health issues. So naturally, we thought… how can we extend the benefits this training can bring to our wider community?
This led us to invite renowned mental health training provider and RiskSTOP Group partner Peter Larkum to deliver a two-day course at our headquarters in Poundbury, solely for volunteers from the Veterans Hub and entirely at our expense. The 8 volunteers that attended are now qualified Mental Health First Aiders.
Ripple effect
Chris Edwards, who served in The Royal Navy and has been a volunteer at the Veterans Hub for 18 months, said: “This training is going to be so valuable for all of us. Already, I feel more confident about talking with others about mental health issues because of everything I’ve learned through the course.
“Peter was fantastic and we are all so grateful to RiskSTOP for supporting us in this way. This will make a huge difference, not only to the veterans we work with, but to how we go about supporting each other, and ourselves of course, with our volunteering.”
Natalie Joyce, RiskSTOP Group HR Manager, commented: “I’ve seen first-hand the positive impact our own team of Mental Health First Aiders has been able to bring to our organisation.
“I’m so delighted that the ripple effect of our investment will now spread to our local community and will undoubtedly help this wonderful team of people who help veterans and their families in need.”
For more information about the Veterans Hub, visit www.theveteranshub.co.uk
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