Veterans First Point (V1P) has been developed by veterans for
veterans and is staffed by veterans. Funded by the
Scottish Government, NHS Lothian and the Ministry of
Defence, it aims to provide a one-stop shop for
veterans and their families living in Lothian.
What this means in practice is that we work with organisations
that might be able to help a veteran or their family to resolve
whatever issue they may have.
The core of the operation is a team of peer support workers
(PSWs) who act as the listening ear to whatever needs you may
have. They are all ex-servicemen or women and their role
is to help you move forward with your life. The thinking
behind this is that even if we have not been on the same
deployments as you, we know about military life and the pressures
on self and family.
V1P also has specialists in mental health
and psychological disorders.
We have a specialist veterans' therapist on site who can
provide counselling, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and eye
movement desensitisation reprocessing (EMDR) interventions.
We also have a clinical psychologist and psychiatrist when
required.
If you would like to
learn more about Veterans First Point, just click
here. Recently we delivered a national conference
about the work we do and our findings to date. If you would
like to see more about this, please download our annual report
here.
When you register to use the service, one of the PSWs will
spend time with you talking through your issues and
concerns. They will then agree an action plan with you that
will link you directly to the most appropriate support or help
provider.
The service is completely free of charge; the only stipulation
is that you are ex-service or a partner of someone who has
previously served.
For further information, please follow this link to a recent
newspaper article about the centre.