It could be you!

The Chief of the Defence Staff was walking down the street one night when he passed a beggar holding out a tin, with a board on the pavement saying 'Falkland Islands Veteran'. The great man pulled out a five-pound note and placed it in the tin with a muttered 'thank you'. As he turned to go, a thin voice piped up: 'Mucho Gracias, Senor!'

Things may not always be what they seem.

Let us take it for granted that you are a successful person. You have a job, a happy marriage, a car and a house. Or maybe you do not have all those things but you expect to one day. But it is just possible that you will become ill and lose your job, that your wife might run off to be with that Masai warrior she met on R&R after the Kenya exercise, that the kids might drop out of school and join the drugs scene, and that your whole world will implode with devastating effect.

Or maybe you already have problems in the Services. Perhaps you are unhappy with the restrictions of the life or the level of duties. You could be a persistent petty disciplinary offender, always at the wrong end of a warrant officer's bollocking. Troubles at home, a pregnant girlfriend or pressures from your mates could make you want to leave without actually having a job or home to go to.

Whatever the reason, many people find themselves in trouble - and the fact that they have a problem does not automatically make them bad or even weak people. Some of them probably are, but the vast majority have simply had life experiences that the more fortunate amongst us never encounter.

So as you sit down in the bosom of your family, showering immense quantities of dosh upon an adoring wife and rosy-cheeked kids, and enjoying the best student award on that promotion course, remember that this scale of misfortune simply has not descended upon you … yet.

First of all, let us kill the myth that homelessness, violence, alcoholism and drug abuse are Service problems. They are not. They are society's problems, and the Services are no more likely to produce people who suffer from them as any other employment area; in fact they probably do better than most. But it is undeniable that some people from an Armed Forces background have problems when they leave, even though the resettlement system works very well for the vast majority.

So what awaits the individual in trouble? The basic problem, apart from recovery from whatever illness, disability or behaviour put them there in the first place, is survival. Somehow they must get food and shelter. A razor, toothbrush and shower may follow, with some form of counselling to help with their difficulties and loss of self-worth. Many charities, including ex-Service agencies, help in this area but one problem is that many of the people on the streets either do not know they exist or do not understand that they can use them. Hostels and refuges will provide help and advice but this is very much first aid, and long-term results will require more.

The next challenge is to avoid going back there. This may require medical treatment for illness or injury, further counselling across a range of issues, education and training, job placement, housing assistance and financial advice. It may take time and money, but the end result should be individuals able to take up places in society that they thought they had lost forever.

All charity organisations work closely together, with the MoD's Veterans Agency and the ex-Service charities referring people from one to the other as one phase of the recovery is completed and another is due to start. The Service resettlement system now also provides some assistance to vulnerable individuals as they leave the Forces and tells them where to go for help in the particular field that is worrying them.

Individuals can support the charity of their choice through donations or, for those who like to become personally involved, through working as a volunteer. It can be quite humbling to see the courage and determination shown by some people under harsh circumstances, and it can be a reminder to the more fortunate amongst us to count our blessings.

If we end up in trouble ourselves, we can remember that there is help available. And we can ensure that anyone we know or come across who may need help is signposted in the right direction. Because there is this network of charitable support for the ex-Service community, it does not really matter where they enter the system. What matters is that everyone knows that there is a way out, and that homeless misery does not have to last forever.