Mental Health Charity Solent Mind announces the launch of a brand new service ‘Anchoring Minds’, giving families of serving Royal Navy or Royal Marines personnel the emotional wellbeing support they need and deserve. This service is funded by the RNRMC and created in partnership with Solent NHS.
Anchoring Minds is a brand new community-based service covering Gosport, Fareham, Portsmouth, and the Isle of Wight. The service has been created with serving families in mind and has been developed while working closely with the community to ensure it fits to the current needs. Anchoring Minds will support families to access support and to reduce the stress of not knowing where to turn, to improve their wellbeing and mental health.
Families of serving personnel often face extra pressures on their mental health and feel they are not understood. Amy* from Portsmouth says:
“More often than not my husband’s return home would be delayed and this was torture and emotionally damaging. This took its toll eventually and I lost a lot of weight and struggled to sleep. Those around me did not seem to understand, or thought that I should have somehow known what I was getting into.”
Lucy Irvine has recently joined Solent Mind as a dedicated Serving Personnel Family Liaison Practitioner, and is herself the partner of a serving Navy officer, and will be running this pioneering new service. She says:
“Service families face unique challenges, including deployment, relocation, stress, loneliness, lack of family support and much more. This can sometimes have a negative impact on wellbeing and mental health.
We want to make sure that all service families have a voice and a service to support them in these times of need. We want to offer a service in the heart of the community to help families access specific support from people who understand and can empathise.
We understand that families of serving personnel come in all shapes and sizes, so we are dedicated to making sure this new service is welcoming and supportive so anyone with a loved one in the Royal Navy or Marines feel they can access support.”
The service will create a much-needed support network for serving families, offering tailored support and understanding when facing deployment, all-inclusive peer groups and help them access the most relevant local support services.
Andy Spencer, Armed Forces Lead Manager at Solent NHS Trust says:
“Solent NHS Trust is proud to support our partners delivering a wide programme of support for royal naval families in the area funded by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity.
As part of our commitment to our partners in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Military Mental Health Alliance, we support Anchoring Minds to deliver this unique service.”
To access the service visit Solent Mind’s website or email anchoringminds@solentmind.org.uk
(*Name has been changed for privacy.)
