New Gateway to help veterans with civilian life

A new 24 hour service will help veterans access the support they need quickly and easily as they transition from military to civilian life.

Veterans’ Gateway has been created with £2 million from the Ministry of Defence’s Covenant Fund and assist former servicemen and women navigate their new lives as civilians, providing advice on housing, health and finance.

The service will offer 24-hour online chat, phone, and text message services, with the centre manned partly by veterans to help ensure that callers can speak to someone who can understand their experience.

Tobias Ellwood, Minister for Defence People and Veterans, who announced the service, said: “The vast majority of our people make a smooth transition from military to civilian life, but the Veterans’ Gateway provides extra support in the form of a staffed, 24-hour, one-stop-shop offering guidance on housing and employment, finance, mental and physical health. Our £2 million investment honours the nation’s Armed Forces Covenant and draws all facets of support for our Armed Forces community together for the first time.”