Advice: What support is available for ex-service personnel?

Evidence from homelessness agencies indicates that people who have been in the armed forces are over-represented among homeless people. People serving in the air force, army or navy may have tied accommodation while they are in service and have nowhere to stay when they leave. Sometimes forces personnel may find it hard to adjust well to civilian life or may have joined in the first place as a solution to family or other personal problems.

In recent years the high number of veterans among homeless people has been increasingly recognised. Veterans have been added to the categories of people in priority need that local authorities have a duty to provide accommodation or other appropriate support for.

Support services for veterans

As well as services that offer help around homelessness to anyone including ex-service personnel, there are now some specialist organisations which provide advice and support specifically to veterans:

• Veterans Aid - Advice service based in London for ex-service personnel, merchant seamen and their families.
• Legionline - The British Legion's helpline providing advice and information to veterans and their families.
• SSAFA - Forces Help - National helpline providing information, advice and signposting to veterans and their families.
• Service Personnel and Veterans Agency Helpline - Single point of contact within the Ministry of Defence for veterans and their dependants seeking help.
• Joint Service Housing Advice Office - Housing information and advice for members of the armed forces and their families.
SPACES (Single Persons Accommodation Centre for the Ex-Services) - Helpline for single people leaving any of the armed services with no permanent home to go to.
• Several organisations help specific groups of veterans, or deal with specific issues: AJEX - Association of Jewish Ex-Service Men and Women, Ex-Services Mental Welfare Society - Combat Stress and West Indian Ex-Servicemen's and Women's Association.

There are also some other local specialist advice services for veterans. To find information on Homeless London relating to ex-service personnel, type "veteran" or "ex-service" in the Search box above Quick links.

Research into homelessness among veterans

Several recent publications investigate how many homeless people are veterans, what the causes of this are, and what could be done to improve the situation:

• The Effectiveness of Interventions in Preventing Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Among Ex-Service Personnel in London
• Five Years of Action
• Lest We Forget: Ex-servicemen and Homelessness
• Military History: The Experiences of People who Become Homeless after Military Service