Female veterans living in the North West of North Tyneside are benefiting from wellness workshops, friendship activities, community meals, and a cold water swimming and sauna session at the beach.
All this is thanks to a grant from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, awarded to the charity Salute Her, which works to improve the lives of UK women in the armed forces during and after service.
North Tyneside Council is partnering with North Tyneside VODA to deliver the UKSPF programme, which is funded by the UK Government with the North East Combined Authority as the lead authority. Through UKSPF, North Tyneside Council has invested over £1.2 million through a range of grants in the North West of the Borough.
It is part of the Council’s Ambition for the North West, creating attractive places to live, new opportunities for work and business, and inspiring spaces to play and visit.
Salute Her CEO Paula Edwards said: “We have been using the UKSPF funding to run a range of different activities to enhance wellbeing and mental health, based on feedback from the women.
“When women leave the armed forces they often move into communities where they feel isolated, without other female veterans living nearby. They can find it hard to make friends, struggle with their mental health and have a low quality of life.
“We are providing healthy living workshops aimed at helping the women make better lifestyle choices. They focus on food for mood, food for better mental health, and how to cook cheap and nutritional meals. Many women leave the forces not knowing how to cook, because in the military all meals are provided.
“We provide workshops on building self–esteem and confidence, and on confidence and setting boundaries in relationships. Because these workshops are often trauma-focussed we keep the numbers in each one to a maximum of ten.
“In December, we are taking the women to the beach for a sauna, cold water swimming and a meditation session, followed by hot chocolate around a fire.
“Cold water swimming is excellent when you have been through trauma or have PTSD, it helps to reset the nervous system and is great for mental health and resilience.
“Using the funding, we have been able to provide volunteering opportunities for some of the women who have been feeling lost, lonely, or without purpose. The impact of that has been profound and amazing.”
As well as the workshops, Salute Her is running community activities in the John Willie Sams Centre in Dudley. These include regular afternoon teas which are friendship-focussed, helping the women to build relationships with the wider community.
Paula said: “Through the community events we have found that there are a lot of older female veterans in the local area, many in their 80s and 90s, and we get some brilliant conversations going with them, sharing their stories.”
Councillor Karen Clark, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, said: “It is fantastic to see this UKSPF funding being used to support Salute Her’s important work with female veterans in the North West of the Borough, with a focus on mental health, wellbeing and feeling part of the local community.”
UKSPF was made available to any voluntary and community sector organisations that provide services in Camperdown, Weetslade and Longbenton, with five different types of grants: capital, large, medium, small and youth.
With a focus on creating a sense of renewed pride, identity and connectivity in local communities, UKSPF aims to increase life chances across the UK, investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills.
The capital, large, medium and youth funds are now closed, and all money has been allocated, but funding is still available through the small grants scheme via North Tyneside VODA until 31 December 2024.
