Alchemic Kitchen, a start-up social enterprise from the charity Feedback, and other partners have been serving delicious homemade soup for veterans living at Launchpad’s Speke House in Liverpool.

Like most businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Merseyside-based project has had to adapt its business model and is supporting local communities twice a week to deliver fresh soups and bread rolls to local charities.

Alchemic Kitchen is renowned for creating preserves from locally-sourced food that would otherwise be wasted. They rescue the food from local farms or markets and use it to make unusual and delicious treats and feasts. They also work with local people to enhance their skills and connect communities to the value of good food.

The delivery, every Wednesday, is a welcome relief for some of the veteran residents living at Speke House who have had to adapt to the way they live due to the current lockdown restrictions. Most residents are self-isolating and all communal areas are closed.

Launchpad provides accommodation and support to help veterans stabilise their lives and make a successful transition from military to civilian life. Speke House accommodates 48 residents in self-contained flats.

Sam Jackson, Manager of Launchpad’s Speke House, said:

“It is a wonderful gesture for Alchemic Kitchen to deliver soup and bread rolls to our residents. It means a lot to them to have freshly made food cooked and delivered to them ensuring they are getting at least one good meal every Wednesday.

“We have a good partnership with Alchemic Kitchen and last year, our residents were invited to a local farm in Scarisbrick where they picked kale and vegetables and cooked outdoors. On behalf of all residents, we are very grateful to Alchemic Kitchen and their suppliers for helping our veterans, especially during this difficult time.”

Lucy Antal, Project Manager for Alchemic Kitchen, said:

“Due to the current climate, we have had to change the way we operate. As signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant, we are delighted to be supporting local charities such as Launchpad to deliver fresh soups. These have been made using surplus and rescued vegetables from local farms and Hurst Brothers at the Liverpool Wholesale Food Market, with the addition of pulses from Hodmedods to up the nutritional content.

“We are also working in partnership with Homebaked Anfield, who are supplying a fresh bread roll with each portion, and we are being supported by donations made by Toast Ale.”

Michael, a veteran resident at Speke House, said:

“I love the soup deliveries every Wednesday. It’s nice to be thought of and that Alchemic Kitchen are willing to go out their way during this strange and difficult time.

“They are delicious, lovely homemade and hearty fulfilling soups, all very healthy and full of goodness and taste great. We really appreciate this and a big thank you to Lucy and the team.”

A new projects manager has been appointed to organise and facilitate a range of diversionary projects and activities for North East veterans.

Sam Hughes has been appointed as assistant manager (projects) at Avondale House to develop, manage and encourage participation in local community and diversionary projects for the schemes’ residents.

Launchpad provides accommodation and support to help veterans stabilise their lives and make a successful transition from military to civilian life. The house provides self-contained, one-bedroom flats for up to 32 residents and includes a communal lounge/kitchen area, IT suite and central courtyard for residents to relax.

Residents are encouraged to participate in a programme of activities to improve their mental health and wellbeing by organising activities such as mindfulness, arts projects, music lessons and outdoor sports.

Sam joins Launchpad from The Percy Hedley Foundation – a charity which supports and meets the needs of children, young people and adults with disabilities and multiple learning difficulties.

She has a background in health and social care and whilst working at the Foundation, she worked with employers to improve employment opportunities for disabled people. Sam is also a former personal fitness coach and is trained in medical care and medications.

She resonates with the veteran residents living at Launchpad as her husband is ex-forces after serving 22 years in the British Army and has been diagnosed with PTSD.

Commenting on her appointment, she said:

“I am really looking forward to working with the veterans but also Launchpad’s partners and the local community to develop and deliver a comprehensive programme of events and activities that will engage and give them the confidence and skills they need as part of their transition.

“I am really passionate about helping people and feel I have a lot to offer this role. I am a military wife of 17 years, I have seen my husband go on tours and I know what he thinks and how hard the transition from the military to civilian life can be. I would like to engage with all our residents and be there to support them but also pick up on the empathy and compassion some of them may be experiencing.

“I am looking forward to speaking to veteran-friendly organisations to help us deliver these activities. I have already spoken to a lot of the residents and they have some great ideas, my job will be to help deliver these and help them on their journey to recovery.”

Phil Thompson, Manager of Avondale House, said:

“Sam has a lot of experience working with people from all ages and backgrounds and I think this will help her as she delivers this role. The key will be to deliver a programme of diversionary projects that our residents want to engage and learn from. These activities and programmes will be designed to support their mental health and wellbeing, motivation and confidence, training and development and when they feel ready, employment and permanent accommodation. Sam is a great asset to the team and I am looking forward to working with her.”

If you are an individual, group or organisation that provides activities which you think may help our veterans or would like to find out more information, please contact Sam at Avondale House on 0191 265 7039.

Up to 100 homeless and unemployed veterans living on the streets of the North East will be provided a lifeline thanks to funding from grant-making charity, Sir James Knott Trust.

The Trust has awarded £5,000 per year over the next three years to Launchpad’s Avondale House in Byker, which provides accommodation and support to help veterans stabilise their lives and make a successful transition from military to civilian life.

The funding couldn’t have come at a better time to be able to support existing resident veterans, particularly with the Covid-19 outbreak and preventing them from being homeless and therefore more vulnerable to being exposed to the virus.

It costs £412K per year to run Avondale House, which provides 32 self-contained, one-bedroom flats. Up to 58% of this cost is covered by rent, mostly through Housing Benefit, but the charity still needs to raise £171K per year in personal and corporate donations and fundraising initiatives.

Newcastle-based Sir James Knott Trust, awards grants to organisations that provide charitable activities across Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, County Durham and Hartlepool. The charity is already a long-term supporter of Launchpad and Trustees have agreed to extend their partnership for a further three years.

Most of the veteran residents living at Avondale House were homeless, living on the streets and have a combination of mental health issues, ranging from anxiety to service and non-service-related PTSD, while some need help with addictions and long-term unemployment.

For many [of the residents], it is the first safe place they have slept in for months, even years. In addition to accommodation, each resident is supported with a personal development plan to help them rebuild their lives and tackle the underlying issues that led to their situation. Once they have stabilised, Launchpad helps them to find employment and move on to long-term accommodation, however, the pandemic has temporarily stalled this work.

In non-pandemic times, residents at Avondale House also participate in a programme of activities to improve their mental health and wellbeing such as mindfulness, arts projects, music lessons and outdoor sports. Resident veterans can also volunteer to help with community projects, like Drew Scott who is helping Family Gateway to deliver food parcels such as home cooked meals to vulnerable families and local isolated people during the Coronavirus outbreak.

Drew, 52, said: “When I heard Family Support needed volunteers to deliver food parcels, I didn’t hesitate to put myself forward and help. I am delivering up to 70 food parcels per day to vulnerable adults and families who do not have family or friends to help them. We all need to pull together during these difficult times and my sentiment is that if I can help, I will do no matter what the issue is – it’s the way I have been brought up. I will do anything to make life easier and help people.”

Phil Thompson, Manager of Avondale House, said: “These are unprecedented times, especially for charities like ourselves that rely on grant funding and donations to be able to continue to deliver the service we do. We are very grateful to the Trustees at Sir James Knott Trust for extending their grant donation to support our veterans.

“This funding will support another 100 homeless and unemployed veterans by giving them a place they can call home and the support they need to help them rehabilitate successfully back into civilian life.”

Jo Curry, Trust Secretary from Sir James Knott Trust, commented: “We are delighted to continue our support for Launchpad, especially at this extremely challenging time. Their ability to deliver and make an immediate difference to those who are most vulnerable is crucial and potentially will save lives.”

Last year, Launchpad, which also has a house in Liverpool, supported 157 veterans and has helped 455 veterans since 2013. 42% of residents left Launchpad with jobs. 69% successfully moved on to settled accommodation, either living independently, reunited with family or with the support they needed.

A UK charity supports our veterans during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Emmanuel Global Network UK (Ltd) is a registered charity, which donates and helps vulnerable people and communities affected by natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis, including the current Covid-19 pandemic.

The charity has donated £600 and delivered 29 food boxes of fresh produce and staple foods to all the veteran residents living at Launchpad’s Avondale House in Byker.

Launchpad provides accommodation and support to help veterans stabilise their lives and make a successful transition from military to civilian life. The house provides self-contained, one-bedroom flats for up to 32 residents.

Local Byker resident Olivia Manzungu volunteers for Emmanuel Global Network and highlighted to them the great work that Launchpad is doing.

The boxes were very well received by the veteran residents at a time when it is difficult to get access to fresh food and essentials.

Each box contained a selection of fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy and staple foods such as cornflakes, sugar, tins of custard and tinned ham. They were also provided with essential items for their own individual flats such as toilet rolls and washing power.

Emmanuel Global Network charity coordinator Fiona Tonge, explained:

“We wanted to give something back to the veterans and the veterans’ charity for the great job they did to fight for the freedom of this nation and to support them during these difficult times. We are blessed to bless others; each of us has something, however small, to contribute to help our fellow citizens, especially those such as our veterans in such challenging times.”

Ian who is a resident at Avondale House, said: “It’s really nice that people are thinking of us at times like this. Especially for another charity to come out and support us and putting us before themselves. I’m just so grateful.”

 

Callum, who is also one of the veteran residents, said: “I was over the moon to receive my food box. I couldn’t believe there were people out there that cared. It was the first time someone has thought of me and cared enough about me to give me something. I really appreciate their kindness.”

David Shaw, CEO and Founder of Launchpad, commented:

“On behalf of the Trustees and all of us involved in Launchpad, I would like to thank Emmanuel Global Network UK (Ltd) for this generous donation to the residents of Launchpad’s Avondale House in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Our veterans are keeping their distance and some are isolating due to underlying health issues, so these food boxes and the monetary donation are very welcome and have come at a convenient time.”

We launched our new website this week, creating a fresh, modern new look.

Our core purpose is to support veterans, providing accommodation and support to help them stabilise their lives and make a successful transition from military to civilian life.

Like all charities, we rely on personal and corporate donations and fundraising initiatives to contribute towards our costs and we are very grateful to all our partners and support organisations listed in our partners section.

The new website has been designed to provide visitors with better functionality and to quickly and easily access the information they are looking for. We engaged with staff and residents as part of this process.

You can click on the various links to find out more about the charity, the support we provide, our latest news and how you can get involved by either donating, fundraising or volunteering.

The ‘apply’ and ‘donate’ buttons are clearly positioned throughout the pages to make it easy for prospective residents to apply to live in one of our houses but also encourage visitors who wish to make a donation or to find out about our latest fundraising campaigns.

Another element is the individual stories of veterans who have been/are living in one of our houses in Newcastle or Liverpool. We encourage you to read these stories to hear about their military background and their journey on how and why they came to Launchpad but more importantly, how they have benefited from the support we have provided.

We hope you enjoy visiting our new website and if there is anything you think we should add, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

This is an update about Coronavirus and the measures we are putting in place to keep our residents safe.

As a nation, we are faced with unprecedented times, creating challenges for us all. After the Government’s announcement of additional measures to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus, we all need to do our bit by following the guidelines of social distancing, staying at home, protecting the NHS and saving lives.

First and foremost, the health, safety and wellbeing of our veteran residents and our staff is of paramount importance. We have introduced a number of measures across both our houses, in Newcastle and Liverpool, to ensure we are doing as much as we can to protect our residents and limit the spread of infection.

We are currently housing up to 80 residents who rely on our help and support. Some, more than others, are vulnerable and need additional support and we have put procedures in place to ensure they receive the support they need.

Our Trustees and managers are having regular updates and we are following Government guidance to ensure we minimise any risks to our residents and staff.

The following measures have already been put in place to reassure residents:

• All residents have been briefed about the seriousness and threat of the virus and the symptoms to look out for.
• Residents are encouraged to take care of their health and personal hygiene and posters have been displayed clearly in all areas within both houses. Residents have been provided with extra soap and information on hand washing.
• Residents have been given advice and guidance on self-isolation and the importance of social distancing.
• Residents are encouraged to use telephones and social media to maintain contact when in isolation. Each house is sending group messages via What’s App to communicate key messages to residents. The number of visitors to each scheme has been limited and all communal areas undergo a deep clean. Residents have been given emergency contact telephone numbers of staff and key partner agencies.
• There is good clear (and regular) communication between staff and residents. Welfare calls are being made daily to reassure residents and staff are having extended calls with those most vulnerable to reduce the worry of isolation.
• Residents are encouraged to ask questions and support is being provided about sustaining benefits or income.
• Residents are encouraged to exercise once a day as per Government guidelines. Support is also provided for those who need food supplies and who can’t visit the local shop or foodbank.
• All appointments with key partners are to be conducted via telephone. Residents can still access an emergency repair service.
• Staff have been briefed and appropriate measures are in place to ensure residents are referred to medical and social service support when required.
• Contingency plans are in place should staff need to self-isolate.

These are very challenging times and like other charities, Launchpad relies on personal and corporate donations to ensure we can continue to provide the support and services we need to help our resident veterans. Now more than ever, our residents need our support and we will do everything we can to help them. If you would like to support our veterans, you can still donate through our usual channels on our website at www.veteranslaunchpad.org.uk

The situation is constantly evolving, and we will continue to seek appropriate advice and guidance from Government. I hope you stay safe and well during these difficult times.

David Shaw
CEO and Co-founder of Launchpad