A unique and visionary project supporting retired police officers and military veterans who’ve been physically injured or psychologically impacted by their service has been launched today (Tuesday 30th April) in Northern Ireland.
With its headquarters in County Fermanagh, Brooke House Health and Wellbeing Centre is a charitable project funded by the Chancellor through LIBOR funds. It will provide bespoke treatment and care through a range of support services.
This new scheme specifically seeks to support retired Royal Ulster Constabulary GC Officers, Reserve Officers, and their families, who currently reside in or were permanently based in the counties of Armagh, Fermanagh or Tyrone during their service pre-4th November 2001.
The project will also support military veterans from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force post-2008, and their families, who reside in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland.
Therapies and treatments will be delivered within Colebrooke Estate and at various locations throughout Northern Ireland. These include: residential respite and retreat programmes, trauma focused psychological therapy, physiotherapy, complementary therapy, nature based therapy, activity days and social events.
Joan Clements, Director of the Brooke House Health and Wellbeing Centre said: “I am delighted to be involved the launch of this new innovative service offering multi-disciplinary support to meet the assessed needs of individuals and their families in a unique and wonderful setting. It is a great privilege to have had military veteran Simon Weston CBE as our guest speaker here today.”
Notes:
The Brooke House project is governed by the Ely Centre – a registered charity which specialises in the provision of multi-disciplinary support services for civilians, security force personnel and their families, who have been bereaved or injured as a result of the ‘Troubles’. (www.elycentre.com)
LIBOR Funds: The funding comes from fines levied on the banking industry for manipulating the LIBOR rate. In 2012, HM Treasury announced that “the proceeds from LIBOR fines would be used to support Armed Forces and Emergency Services charities and other related good causes that represent those that demonstrate the very best of values.” HM Treasury has asked the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust to administer the grants they have awarded.
Guest speaker Simon Weston CBE: When the RFA Sir Galahad was destroyed in the Bluff Cove Air Attack during the Falklands War, in 1982, on board was Simon Weston, Welsh Guardsman. Simon was severely injured, sustaining serious burns to 46% of his body. He has become well-known across the United Kingdom and abroad for his struggle to overcome his injuries and redefine his role in life, and his message is one of achievement, of triumph in the face of adversity, and of seizing the moment and succeeding. (www.simonweston.com)
Further information is available from Brooke House Director Joan Clements Telephone number: 028 8953 1223.
