VALOUR veteran support network more than doubles to 34 organisations
Twenty more organisations are joining VALOUR, the government’s network of local support centres for veterans and their families, backed by £13.2m in new funding.
The VALOUR network of veteran support centres is growing from 14 organisations to 34 after the Ministry of Defence awarded £13.2m to a second round of lead organisations. The new centres are due to open by early 2027, and the government estimates that around one million veterans and family members will find local help easier to reach as a result.
VALOUR is the government’s system for helping the UK’s estimated two million veterans get support with healthcare, work and housing. It works through three routes:
- VALOUR-recognised centres, run by councils, charities and other local organisations.
- A helpline.
- Information and guidance online.
The scheme is run from a headquarters in the Office for Veterans’ Affairs within the MOD, with VALOUR field officers in each region bringing councils, public services and charities together. It is part of the government’s 10-year Veterans Strategy, and the £50m rollout is funded through the Defence Investment Plan.
Who is joining
Twenty organisations join the network in this round:
- The Poppy Factory
- Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation
- Age UK Waltham Forest
- Mid Suffolk Citizens Advice Bureau
- Stevenage Borough Council
- Defence Medical Welfare Service
- Veterans Support Northern Ireland
- Adferiad
- Monmouthshire County Council
- City of York Council
- Leeds City Council
- Herefordshire Veterans Support Centre
- The Veterans Contact Point
- Loughborough Wellbeing Centre
- CVS Lincolnshire
- Citizens Advice Rushmoor
- The Lantern Trust, Weymouth
- Wiltshire Council
- Westmorland and Furness Council
- Dover District Council
East Durham Veterans Trust, one of the first 14, also receives further funding. Round two is worth £13,260,580, bringing the total awarded so far to £26.5m.
Aldershot visit
Veterans Minister Calvin Bailey MBE MP marked the expansion with a visit to Citizens Advice Rushmoor in Aldershot on 2 November, ahead of Remembrance Sunday. Its chief executive, Calum Stewart, said becoming a VALOUR-recognised centre would help the charity give veterans and their families “joined-up advice and support”.
Finding support
Veterans and their families can find out what VALOUR offers, and how to reach a local centre or the helpline, on the VALOUR website.
- Featured Advertisers -
