Rochdale military man sets up service for veterans

Richard Williams

Richard Williams, of Norden, Rochdale, set up a special mental health service for veterans in June 2008 with fellow military-man Gary Cameron.

The primary objectives of Military Mental Health (MMH) are to raise awareness about the unique needs of veterans, and to provide them with appropriate psycho-therapeutic care to help them with problems such as anger management and panic attacks.

The program caters for over 300 veterans who struggle to adapt to civilian life after serving in the military. They run workshops in Manchester to help veterans with their problems.

They previously worked in the voluntary sector, but after collaboration with the NHS, IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) and prisons, they have been able to reach more people. They now sit on the board with the strategic health agency in the Northwest and are able to advise about psychological treatment of veterans.

Richard, 41, who served in Germany, the Gulf War, Northern Ireland and Bosnia, explains that the idea came about after meeting Gary at a reunion in 2007, 17 years after they served together in the military.

“I had problems with the transition from military to civilian life and after two years suffered symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), such as flashbacks, nightmares. Gary became homeless and suffered from alcohol problems.

“I found it extremely difficult to find something in common with them, and became increasingly isolative and I couldn’t network with my civilian friends.”

They are about to start an initiative in Rochdale and Richard says that there are more suffering veterans in the town than one would think.

“There will be a fair few without assistance. Veterans don’t trust services so don’t seek help and often don’t have the motivation to do so.”

Their scheme is quite unique. Richard believes it is crucial that those suffering from PTSD have someone to talk to that understands them.

“When they engage they open up more quickly with help of other veterans. Bridges are built quickly and many civilian therapists have no military experience. Those with military experience can empathise.”

MMH is looking for more veterans to help them branch out further. “We have plans to employ veterans and have them in Veteran Community Navigator Roles,” says Richard. “They would have local knowledge which they can link with IAPT.”

Richard urges veterans who suffer from PTSD, or those who would like to volunteer, to contact him on 07538191731.