Op COURAGE
Operation Community
Op Community provides sympathetic, confidential, and practical support to families of serving personnel, reservists, veterans, and carers living in Dorset to improve and promote physical and mental wellbeing.
How does Op Community help?
A families welfare officer (FWSO) is on hand to support and advocate for individuals to ensure they receive appropriate advice and guidance when navigating the NHS landscape, local authority departments or other support agencies.
The FWSO can help with:
- finding solutions by working alongside other organisations which may include supporting referrals to specialist charities or departments to support with debt, housing, employment, benefits etc
- advise on Veteran friendly GP practices within the local area
- providing advice, guidance and support on how to use the NHS to get support
- directing specific queries to experts within the local NHS
- working and liaising with other organisations to help facilitate transfers of care from one healthcare provider to another for those transferring into the area
- to ensure places on NHS waiting lists are not lost after moving to a new area
- support with signposting or referrals to support in the community, in order to improve health and wellbeing
- linking with other Armed Forces specific services and support.
The FWSO also aims to assist those transitioning and leaving the service by providing a mentoring approach to support families into civilian life within Dorset. Spouses that plan to marry those in military service are also supported.
A new platform called 'HeadFIT for Life' has been launched with online tools to help defence personnel to take a more proactive approach to their mental health and mental fitness.
What is HeadFIT and who is it for?
- HeadFIT has been developed in partnership with The Royal Foundation's Heads Together campaign, the Ministry of Defence and King's College London
- HeadFIT is a new online platform, which will provide the military with 24/7 access to self-help tools to help them manage the stresses of everyday life
- The platform includes tools such as breathing exercises, body posture and relaxation techniques that have been designed for all defence personnel, whether they are new recruits, long-serving personnel, veterans, civilian staff or those in uniform. The techniques are designed so they can be easily integrated into their everyday lives.