Veterans Aid is a totally unsung and amazing little charity that looks after homeless ex-Servicemen or those of them in crisis. It does this without a fuss, so you probably will not have heard about them. They provide more than 20,000 nights of accommodation a year to homeless veterans – young ones, many of them. They are the ‘Accidents and Emergencies’ of the Armed Services charities and are just too busy to do much more than get on with their work, which they do really well, with kindness and awesome speed. Just look at their website – www.veterans-aid.net . They need funds and that is why I am going to run the London Marathon 2012 on Sunday, 22 April for them. I am trying to get people to sponsor me.

 

Homeless ex-Servicemen and women, usually broken and destitute, come to see them from all over UK at their ‘drop-in’ centre near Victoria Station, in London. From there begins a long and often painful path to regain their self-esteem and to reintegrate the community which many served bravely to protect. This journey may involve a period of rehabilitation or rest at their own veterans’ hostel in the East End of London or at another safe place. When they are stronger they move on to more permanent accommodation – local authority flats or supported housing.

 

Veterans Aid are doing all they can to get these guys - many of them are young - back on their feet, accommodated, stabilized and treated for whatever is wrong with them. Some of them are just slightly depressed, that’s all, but they badly need the funds to allow them to do this. This is where I come in. So please help me to raise funds for them.

REMEMBER WITHOUT THEM YOU MAY NOT BE LIVING IN THE FREE SOCIETY YOU LIVE IN TODAY.