Tell Us Once

The Tell Us Once service will help make notifiying bereavement easier

SPVA and Tell Us Once have joined forces to offer a birth and bereavement Service for Service personnel and veterans.

From the middle of October, our Agency will be joining the cross-government Tell Us Once Service.  Tell Us Once is a voluntary service rolling out nationally over the next few months.  It will make things significantly easier for people reporting a birth or bereavement. Tell Us Once removes the need for citizens to report the same birth or bereavement to government multiple times. 

Tell Us Once will be offered by local authorities and a simple postcode search on the Directgov website will tell you if Tell Us Once is available in your area.  Each local authority that offers Tell Us Once may have its own additional services designed around local needs.  Depending on the local council Tell Us Once will be offered as a short interview after the registration process, or by telephone.

Tell Us Once is already available in 44 local authorities and has been used by about 60,000 people. At present it informs 24 local and central government services such as tax credits, child benefits and blue badges. Information will also be passed on to us, so we can update our records and offer support more quickly to families who need it. 

A visit to the Poppy Factory

Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, Andrew Robathan, in the Poppy Factory warehouse with the charity's Chief Executive, Melanie Waters
[Picture: Richard Watt, Crown Copyright/MOD 2011]

Have you ever visited the MOD's website?  On a daily basis, there are new online stories highlighting news or features that will be of interest to the Armed Forces Community.

I spotted this article online.  The Minister for Defence, Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, Andrew Robathan, visited the Poppy Factory charity. Now the charity has launched a five-year campaign to help 500 wounded, sick and injured ex-Service personnel into employment.

To get an idea of what the charity can do, then take a look at our latest issue of Veterans WORLD.  In this issue, we've published a double-page feature on the charity (pages 12 and 13) and their plans, with a case study on Ewan Stewart, a disabled veteran they've helped back into employment.

Take a look and find out more . . .

New online mental health forum launched

The Big White Wall has been designed so it's easy to use with plenty of tips on how to get the best out of the site.

Today an Armed Forces online mental health forum was launched,  So, when it comes to dealing with mental health issues, Service personnel, veterans and their families now have access to specialised online help and support.

The online well-being network Big White Wall is equipped to support the mental health needs of the Armed Forces Community.  The site is staffed by professional counsellors who can be contacted who can be contacted 24-hours. 

Among the services available is the opportunity for Big White Wall users to chat anonymously to others who may have gone through similar experiences. 

The Department of Health has also launched an e-learning package it has funded for GPs so they can better identify mental health problems and support veterans and their families.

The course was developed by the Royal College of General Practitioners as part of plans to improve veterans' mental health services.

It will raise awareness with GPs of the need to ensure that those seriously injured when discharged from the Armed Forces continue to receive the best possible care. It will also ensure that GPs are able to offer the right support to families of those currently serving or who are veterans.

The September Issue

The September issue of Veterans WORLD is now online.

In this issue, you might notice some further changes to the format.  With some tweaks to our News in brief section on pages four and five, we are hoping to make the articles here short soundbites on news affecting the Armed Forces Community.

We've got a great feature on Tedworth House, the newest Army Personnel Recovery and Assessment Centre based in Wiltshire.  There's also news on Skillforce, the Education charity that's utlising ex-Service Personnels' skills and knowledge to support children in schools.  We're also reporting on a new project that's aiming to protect war memorials across the UK.   That's just a taster of what in store for you . . . find out more by reading the issue.

And don't forget, we have two ways to view Veterans WORLD online - either download the standard PDF or choose the option to view the issue via ISSUU (a leading digital publishing platform that's free to access).  ISSUU provides you with a more interactive, digital version of Veterans WORLD.

Enjoy the issue and let me know what you think.

Planning for resettlement

The new CTP* website has been launched which provides support to Service Leavers at any stage of their resettlement.  Interactive resources will help them personalise their resettlement plan, so they can manage their own resettlement and career transition.

With the homepage integrated into a single page for all visitors, it's now a one-stop shop for easy access to all the help needed to resettle into civilian life.

 The website's been enhanced and has lot's of great new features that will help to plan for the future...

^myPlan is an interactive resource  

^myPlan - the new interactive resource that will give Service Leavers tools to use, that will help them to manage their own resettlement and career transition. 

The personalised area will be customised to Service Leaver as they complete their resettlement journey.

Career Assessment Tools - Online learning; five self-paced activities focus on uncovering values, recognizing past achievements and understanding how interests and skills combine to create key strengths.

Personal Resettlement Plan - Career Objective, Training Plan and Action Steps to log resettlement objectives and training activities. This online format facilitates easy updates and review with an assigned Career Consultant.

CV Builder -Includes guidance, templates and examples to assist  with creating a CV that is tailored to the vacancy that is being applied for.

Resettlement Tracker - Charts personal progress on the major milestones of a Service Leaver's resettlement.

This is just a taster of what the new site has to offer, whatever part of the resettlement journey you are on, take a visit today.

*CTP has been the official provider of Armed Forces resettlement since 1998. The Career Transition Partnership (CTP) is the Ministry of Defence working with Right Management.

Service leavers of all ranks from the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Marines can all benefit from resettlement support, career transition advice and training opportunities.