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Al is a Mental Health Peer Support Worker at Glasgow Helping Heroes (GHH), a partnership between SSAFA and Glasgow City Council to help those who are serving or have served in the Armed Forces, or their families. The partnership aims to provide a single point of contact to improve access to housing, financial, and employability services.
Prior to joining GHH, Al served in the RAF as a ground engineer. After leaving the military he retrained as a registered mental health nurse, which he still is. With this range of experience, Al provides first-line support to veterans from across Glasgow. The Mental Health Peer Support Worker role was initially supported by funding from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust in 2021, and subsequently made permanent.
There's still that idea that I'm tough... I shouldn't have to need help for my mental health
“I'm the first point of contact for the veterans, the men and the women that come here,” he explains. “The people we see here don't tend to have simple mental health issues, they have very complex mental health issues brought about by their service.
“There's still that idea that I'm tough, I'm a soldier, I'm a marine, I'm a sailor, I'm in the Air Force, I shouldn't have to need help for my mental health. I think a lot of people, whilst they're still serving, are perhaps a little afraid to say, ‘I have a mental health issue,’ because they think it might affect their career in some way.”
Yet, as Al shares, transitioning out of the military brings additional challenges with it for some of these people.
“It takes a long time for the person to come to terms leaving the military, you know. They not only lose their camaraderie, the family aspect of being in the service. They suddenly find themselves civilians, just like everybody else and it's hard for people to then say, 'Not only have I left the service, but I've also got a mental health issue.'
“It takes an enormous amount of courage to sign up, no matter what branch you're in but it takes an equal amount of courage to come through our door for the first time.”
...they lack that emotional vocabulary.
Glasgow Helping Heroes can link local service personnel, veterans, their families and carers with a range of financial, housing, health and employment services. It also accesses the third sector of mental health services and connects veterans with the help or assessments they need.
Accompanying this, the team at GHH works to build veterans’ confidence in expressing their emotions, a fundamental skill that will serve them wherever they go.
“I've certainly had veterans that have come in and said, 'I just don't know to express my emotions.' They're really good at taking orders and giving orders whilst they’re serving in the military and it's okay to say, 'I don't feel well physically.’ But when it comes to saying, 'Do you know, I think I might be depressed. I think I might have some trauma going on here.' It’s much harder. Not because they're unintelligent, but because they lack that emotional vocabulary.
“For anyone coming through our door, meeting me and the rest of the team here helps them to learn that emotional vocabulary. So that when they go on the next stage of their journey or whatever service they go to, they have a better understanding of the language and how to express themselves.”
We get feedback from the veterans, who will say, "I feel much stronger now."
Peer support is a key part of GHH’s work.
“I think that's one of the things that helps people to find that courage to come through our door,” says Al. “They share all of their stories with other people and other people say, 'Actually, that's how I felt, that's where I was.'
“The people we get through here range in age from late twenties, early thirties, all the way through to sixty and seventy years old. The issues they bring are the complete mental health rainbow. They'll come and talk about having anxiety. They'll talk about being depressed. They'll talk about having dark days. We talk about suicide. We talk about the bad, worst days.”
As a Mental Health Peer Support Worker, Al has been a critical part of GHH’s impact. In addition to speaking with veterans about their dark moments and days, he also hears how GHH and SSAFA have made a difference.
“We get feedback from the veterans, who will say, 'I feel much stronger now. I feel much more able to deal with things. I'm going to get a job.' You know? One guy told me he had the courage now to reengage with his children. So the impact we have, I think, is massive really. We have had people who have had some fairly severe suicidal intent and through coming through our door, we've managed to prevent that.
“Sometimes it's just baby steps, and sometimes it's life-changing for people.”
