HELP 4 HOMELESS VETERANS, a South Yorkshire based charity has in the last 12 years helped around a thousand homeless veterans earning 2 Royal Awards and 2 South Yorkshire High Sheriff Unsung Hero awards along the way for our work.
One former army medical assistant and her young son from Blundeston in Suffolk was one of them in 2017. This is Amber Guymer-Hosking and her son Brandon now aged 13.
Amber (35) joined the army at 16 and following her training shortly after her 18th birthday she was in the thick of the Afghanistan War dealing with the most seriously wounded, not just British soldiers but civilians including women and children with horrific life threatening/changing and fatal injuries. The memories of which remained with her and came back to haunt her a few years later.
After 11 years service the mental trauma got the better of her and she was medically discharged with PTSD with a 5 year old boy and estranged from an abusive partner.
She was homeless and after spending her army payout on temporary accommodation she turned to our charity for help in 2017.
This is when the healing began. The charity became her new family and she lived in South Yorkshire for 2 years until she felt strong enough to return to Suffolk and rebuild her life there.
She has been a constant supporter of the charity and was appointed an Ambassador for H4HV to represent the charity officially. She travels around the Country attending fundraising events and recently visited Eire and Dallas and Nashville working on projects supporting the charity at her own expense.
She has had 2 books of Veterans poems published and recently received a lovely thankyou message from His Majesty The King thanking her for her book gift and her military service.
She has been interviewed on the charity’s behalf on radio, TV and via social media and is involved with a major TV project for next year where she will be one of the guest presenters talking about Veterans and the issues we all face.
Her on-line presence is big and she is inspiring to other former soldiers that can relate to her background.
Amber has made a remarkable turn-around to her own life from that lowest point when she admits to being suicidal but is now giving back so much time and effort for no financial reward helping the charity (and therefore other vulnerable veterans) that gave her that helping hand when it was needed .
High Sheriff Of Suffolk Mark Pendlington seen here presenting Amber with his Award and receiving a copy of each volume of the Veterans Poems by Amber.
