SSAFA London South West

SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity is a trusted source of support for serving personnel, veterans and their families in their time of need. Founded in 1885, SSAFA is extremely proud of our long-standing heritage and of all the work we do with inspiring people from South West London, across the UK, and around the world.

Christmas Opening Hours.

SSAFA’s Regional Offices are closed for the festive period from Tuesday 24th of December at 1400 until Thursday 2nd of January 2025 (Friday 3rd of January for Scotland). Any emails or voicemails left over this period will be responded to in the New Year.

Forcesline will close on Tuesday 24th December at 1400, re-opening at 0900 on Friday 27 December 2024. The service will then again close at 1600 on 31 December 2024 and re-open at 0900 on Thursday 2 January 2025.

For urgent emotional support, we would encourage you to contact the Samaritans Veterans Hub on 116 123, for support which is available 24/7.

SSAFA London South West Branch is split into three Divisions and serves the needs of our clients in six London Boroughs. Croydon Division looks after the Borough of Croydon, Sutton & Kingston Division looks after the Boroughs of Sutton and Kingston, and Merton, Richmond & Wandsworth Division serves the needs of our clients in the Boroughs of Merton, Richmond, and Wandsworth. The London South West Branch team consists of 30 volunteers, 15 of which are active caseworkers. Wherever you live in South West London, you will be covered by one of these three Divisions, and our dedicated team of volunteers is ready to provide support.

In 2018, we distributed £93,000 from assistance providers to our beneficiaries and in 2019 the amount distributed was £85,000. In 2020, grants distributed to beneficiaries were significantly down on 2019 for what we can only conclude is for Covid-related reasons. In 2020, total funds distributed amounted to £51,500, which was a 44% reduction, but in 2021, since the end of lockdown, we have seen an increasing number of cases, which we expect to return to, or even exceed, 2018 levels. In terms of caseload, there was a decrease from 2019 to 2020 (156 down to 68, a 56% reduction) as well as changed demographics – the 20 to 30-year age group was the largest single claimant bracket in both years, but in 2020 the second largest claimant group was the 30 to 40-year age group rather than 70+ as in 2019. Housing and household goods continue to be the main categories of need.