Focus On: Armed Forces Charities' Mental Health Provision

Abstract: DSC’s armed forces charities research has, since 2014, been providing information to illuminate a sector of charities which are dedicated to serving the men and women of the Service and veteran communities, and their families. Now in its third year, the project has grown and currently includes two Sector Insight reports (UK Armed Forces Charities, 2014 and Armed Forces Charities in Scotland, 2016), and a searchable online database of armed forces charities. Following the first three years of the project, DSC undertook a project Impact Evaluation report in 2016. Results from the Impact Evaluation provided DSC with evidence from which to develop the project and, following a substantial grant from the Forces in Mind Trust, DSC was positioned to mature the established project by providing even more insightful analysis into armed forces charities. This report is the first of DSC’s new Focus On armed forces charities series. The Focus On series builds upon DSC’s Sector Insight reports, which provided a bedrock account of the UK armed forces charities sector, allowing the six Focus On reports to address individual topics of provision made by armed forces charities to their beneficiaries. Focus On: Armed Forces Charities’ Provision for Mental Health is the first of DSC’s 2017 reports and is also the first of this new series. The report contains information and analysis on:
- The number of armed forces charities making provision for mental health support

- Which mental health areas are supported by charities
- Clinical and non-clinical treatment and interventions
- Expenditure on mental health provision and the beneficiaries supported
- Exploring of standards of practice, evaluation and collaboration among charities
Data presented in this report is taken from three main sources; a mental health provision survey (undertaken by DSC and sent to charities represented in this report); charity regulator records (including latest annual reports and accounts, where submitted); and information from individual charities (websites, impact reports, email and telephone correspondence). The report will inform: policymakers; mental health professionals; care providers; statutory health care providers; the media; the charities themselves (and their beneficiaries); and those emerging charities wishing to contribute to mental health support.