Forces Recruiting Present Cheque to Combat Stress

Combat Stress is the UK’s leading charity that specialises in the treatment and support of British Armed Forces Veterans who have mental health problems.

Mental ill-health affects ex-Service men and women of all ages. Right now, Combat Stress is supporting over 5,000 Veterans aged from 20 to 101. It provides a vital lifeline for these men and women, and their families. The treatment and support services which come at no cost to the veterans, and are proven to be highly effective.

A small but significant number of Veterans leave the Armed Forces with psychological wounds. These can lead to depression, phobias, anxiety, relationship problems and, in some cases, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Combat Stress works with Veterans of the British Armed Forces, and members of the Reserve Forces, through effective treatment and support for mental health problems.

This work is made possible through statutory, non-statutory and voluntary fundraising. It simply couldn’t be accomplished without the generosity of the Great British public.

Combat Stress was founded in May 1919, just after the First World War. The original name was the Ex-Servicemen’s Welfare Society and it opened its first “recuperative home” in 1920 on Putney Hill in South West London.

When the charity formed, it was ahead of its time. The prevailing attitude to mental welfare was, by today’s standards, primitive, even barbaric.

Those who suffered from mental breakdown during their service life received little or no sympathy. Indeed, during the First World War, if it led to failure to obey orders death by firing squad was always a possibility.

At the end of the War there were thousands of men returning from the front and from sea suffering from shell-shock. Many were confined in Mental War Hospitals under Martial Law – with the risk of being sent on, without appeal, to asylums.

But the founding mothers of Combat Stress (they were mainly women) believed that these men could be helped to cope with their condition through a rehabilitation programme.

Work was seen as essential to masculine identity; it provided men with financial security and many doctors believed it to be an excellent form of therapy. So, for many years, Combat Stress ran employment schemes that created real work opportunities for Veterans. With operations in Afghanistan and around the world the need for Combat Stress and its expertise is not diminishing.

This is the reason that Forces Recruiting Ltd has chosen Combat Stress as its charity partner. The company wanted to help raise awareness and much needed funds by including free advertising space on its website as well as donating 50 percent of its recruitment revenue to them.

Forces Recruiting Ltd manages and runs www.forcesrecruiting.co.uk as well as producing a free CD for service leavers to assist them in their transition back to civilian life. The aim is to offer ongoing help, support and advice along with training and job opportunities for all service leavers of all age and rank from the Army, Navy, and RAF.

We asked Forces Recriuitng why they chose Combat Stress as their forces charity?

We all know about the difficulties our brave men and women face and overcome on the battlefield, however the general public are not aware of the difficulties faced after serving Queen and Country when it is time to hang up their uniform and make that transition back to becoming a civilian. It is a misconception that Ex-forces personnel are only good for employment in Security cleared jobs or as drivers. Their transferable skills can be used within most companies due to their ability to work in a group, under pressurised situations such as meeting targets and deadlines, they are adept at working within structured chains of command which applies in all office environments with staff having managers and managers having Directors all of which they are answerable to.

We understand that it is sometimes required for leavers of the armed forces to have their qualifications recognised within civvy street, and that is why we have a resettlement training section on our CDs and website that offers numerous areas of training options from the usual Security, Trade skills, IT, Logistics to the less obvious Cycle Maintenance, Fire Safety, Linguistics and much more.

We have numerous Colleges and Universities that offer a wide range of Full and Part time as well as Distance learning courses, we link their adverts directly to their websites to allow people to view the areas they would like to study in.

For those that are looking and able to go in to direct recruitment we work with Career Master CVs who can assist in improving CVs and interviewing techniques.
The companies that we work with who have recognised the attributes service leavers can bring to their company include; JD Wetherspoon pub chain who have been tremendous in their own campaign and plight of offering service leavers interviews and jobs within various roles of their company across most areas of the UK. We also work with BAE Systems, Serco, Admiral Taverns and are constantly looking to build sustainable relationships with companies that would benefit from employing service leavers.

Given the right help and support the transition back to civilian life can be made an easier and less stressful one when key areas are met. Knowing you still have something to give creates self worth as well as a pay packet at the end of each month. It is a fact that home life is easier when money issues do not arise and securing a job can be a massive relief and weight off your mind. These are the reasons we feel that Forces Recruiting and Combat Stress have a natural alignment and we are proud to present this cheque for £5,000 thanks to our advertisers. We hope to be able to continue this relationship for many years to come, however this is only possible if UK businesses recognise the benefits of employing Ex-forces personnel and note the personal sacrifice these brave men and women have made in keeping us all safe.