The Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT), established to enable ex-Service personnel and their families to lead successful and fulfilled civilian lives, marks the end of its fourth year as a grant-awarding, evidence-generating Trust with the release of its 2015 Activity Report.

The Report, launched at a highly successful South West regional briefing in Plymouth on 22nd July, describes how in 2015, Forces in Mind Trust made awards of over £2½ million, launched a ground-breaking Mental Health Research Programme, and published numerous reports that continue to influence and inform policy makers and service deliverers.

The 2015 Activity Report also marks the first formal publication of Forces in Mind Trust’s change model, which has allowed the Trust to adopt a proactive approach to identifying gaps in evidence and support, based around the six outcomes of transition: housing; health and wellbeing; finance; employment; the criminal justice system; and relationships.  The 2015 Activity Report can be downloaded here.

Some of the key activities described in the highly readable Report are:

  • Reports launched: a trial of the Warrior Progamme, undertaken by Southampton University; a study into information sharing around veterans and families in the North East; a Demos report on the needs of working age veterans in residential care; and a major study with NHS England into the mental health needs of the Armed Forces Community.
  • Briefings delivered to politicians at Westminster (both Houses), Cardiff and Edinburgh, and a variety of other events across the United Kingdom.
  • Grants awarded to a diverse range of organizations such as the Probation Institute, Ulster University, RAND Europe, Clore Social Leadership Programme, The Royal Foundation and Venture Trust, and covering topics from spousal employment support, to mental health services in Northern Ireland, to the landscape of military charities in Scotland, to the understanding of local authority service delivers of the needs of Service leavers.

Over the course of 2015, Forces in Mind Trust awarded 18 grants, totaling £2.56 million and bringing the total amount awarded since the Trust was founded to around £7 million.  Full details of all awards and finances are published in the Trustees’ Annual Report at:

https://www.fim-trust.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/20160628-FiMT-annual-report-and-financial-statements-2015-FINAL-v3.pdf

Air Vice-Marshal Ray Lock, Chief Executive of the Forces in Mind Trust, said: “2015 was an extremely busy and influential year for the Forces in Mind Trust.  We have worked across the UK with events held and grant awards made in all four countries.  By better understanding the challenges and obstacles facing ex-Service personnel and their families in transition, we are influencing the policies and service delivery that will help to overcome these challenges.  Our properly conceived change model has now given us the knowledge and the confidence to make an even greater contribution towards our vision that all ex-Service personnel and their families enjoy successful and fulfilled civilian lives.”

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About the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT):

  • FiMT came about from a partnership between the Big Lottery Fund (‘the Fund’), Cobseo (The Confederation of Service Charities) and other charities and organizations.  FiMT continues the Fund’s long-standing legacy of support for veterans across the UK with an endowment of £35 million awarded in 2012.  http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/.
  • The mission of FiMT is to enable ex-Service personnel and their families make a successful and sustainable transition to civilian life, and it delivers this mission by generating an evidence base that influences and underpins policy making and service delivery.
  • FiMT awards grants (for both responsive and commissioned work) to support its change model around 6 outcomes in the following areas: Housing; Employment; Health and wellbeing; Finance; Criminal Justice System; and Relationships.
  • All work is published in open access and hosted on the Veterans’ Research Hub.  A high standard of reportage is demanded of all grant holders so as to provide a credible evidence base from which better informed decisions can be made.

Useful links

  • Website: www.fim-trust.org
  • About the Mental Health Research Programme: https://www.fim-trust.org/mental-health/research-programme/
  • Reports: www.fim-trust.org/reports
  • Those FiMT have helped: www.fim-trust.org/who-we-have-helped
  • Twitter: www.twitter.com/FIMtrust