Who's got your six?
Leaving the forces doesn't end the fight for everyone. This is a place to ask for help, to check on a mate, and to be checked on. Nobody has to carry it alone.
Pick up the phone
All free. All confidential. You don't need to be in crisis to call. You just need to want to talk.
Immediate danger
If you have hurt yourself, taken something, or are about to act: call 999 or go to A&E.
Samaritans
Free, 24 hours a day, every day.
Combat Stress helpline
24-hour mental health helpline for veterans and serving personnel.
Veterans' Gateway
One call to find the right support: health, housing, money, work.
Shout
Text SHOUT to 85258. Free, 24/7 text support.
Op COURAGE
NHS mental health service for veterans. Tell your GP you served and ask for a referral.
Numbers were correct when this page was drafted. Confirm each one before launch and again every few months.
What it can look like
Some people say nothing at all. If something feels off, trust it.
The risky moments
Leaving service. Losing the team, the role, the structure. A relationship ending. Money or housing trouble. Injury or chronic pain. A bad anniversary. Any of these can tip someone, including a person who has always been the strong one.
Five steps. In this order.
You don't need training. You need to show up and stay calm.
Ask straight
Say it plainly:
Are you thinking about killing yourself?
Asking doesn't put the idea in anyone's head. It tells them someone can hear the answer.Listen
Don't fix it, don't argue, don't rush to cheer them up. Let them talk. "That sounds brutal" is enough.
Stay
If they have a plan or the means close by, don't leave them alone. Call 999 and stay on the line until help arrives.
Connect
Help them make one call: Samaritans, Combat Stress, Veterans' Gateway, or their GP. Offer to sit next to them while they do it.
Follow up
Message the next day. Then the next week. Then the week after. The check-in that happens after the crisis matters most.
Built around the people who've served
Programmes below are the plan. Edit, cut or add before this goes live.
Peer check-ins
Veterans paired with veterans for a regular call. Same voice, same person, every week.
First year out
Support for people in their first twelve months after service, when the ground shifts fastest.
Partners and family
Guidance and a listening ear for the people living beside a veteran who is struggling.
We remember
A place to name those we've lost and say what they meant to the people left behind.
Lead, lift, or show up
Volunteer as a peer supporter, back the work, or bring this to your unit, club, yard or crew.
Volunteer
Peer supporters, event help, fundraising, skills in web, legal, finance and media.
Partner
Employers, regiments' associations, clubs and businesses that want to look after their people.
Donate
Payments are not switched on yet. This button goes live once the account and charity details are in place.
Why this exists
[Your story goes here: who you are, your service, who you've lost, and why you're building this. Two or three honest paragraphs beat a polished mission statement.]