Page 30 - Urban Kapital New MAY JUNE 2020 ISSUE

SAPPER SUPPORT

A LIFE CHANGING CHARITY FOR BRITAIN’S EX- SOLDIERS

Britain’s Forgotten Soldiers: How Sapper Support Speaking to Tim on 2 June 2020, I was told that
is Helping Save the Lives of Our Soldiers within the charity’s first 24 days, 27 calls were
made. Without any real advertisement at this point
As we entered the 20th century, suicide was often in time, receiving just over a call a day highlight-
regarded by society and in the field of medicinal ed how vital this type of service was for military
science as a symptom of mental illness. Where men and women. Today, two helplines and a text
suicide occurred, and on the odd occasion it was facility, as well as other contactable social media
recorded, the case was typically marked as a bout platforms, exist to serve the military and 999 per-
of “temporary insanity”. Now, we are fortunate sonnel community.
enough to say that much has changed. At the turn
of the 21st century, both the military and govern- The beauty of this charity is that the veteran in
ments in the UK have come to recognise the issue need is given ownership to the start of their re-
of military-related suicide. covery. A typical waiting time to see a professional
mental health care worker once referred to by a
Despite the increase in mental health awareness GP is 4-6 months. Using Sapper Support, the wait
and various support campaigns for both serving is no more than 2 weeks as the charity funds pri-
soldiers and veterans in recent years, concerns vate assessments. Once a determined diagnosis is
over death persist. In 2018, 71 British veterans lost reached both privately and quickly, it can be taken
their lives to suicide. back to the veteran’s GP. This fast-tracking pro-
cess within the NHS is ultimately saving lives.
Whilst the Ministry of Defence spends around
£22m a year on mental healthcare for veterans, Annually, calls are rising. The rate at which calls
with a further £6m annually for support within are coming in, however, has not been unprece- Images courtesy of: SAPPER -Founder Tim Evers with Sapper Support’s original volunteers.
the NHS, military charities argue that this is not dented or overwhelming according to founder Tim. The Team had just received their training from MIND.
enough. Where people were in need of service, and once
they found out that the services Sapper Support
Identifying a weakness in the support system for provides actually existed, the calls kept coming in
veterans suffering with post-traumatic stress dis- to the point where the voluntary staff had doubled
order (PTSD) and mental health issues, Tim Evers within a year.
set up the military charity Sapper Support in 2014
– the only 24/7 helpline for PTSD sufferers that Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed
operates in the UK. Inspiring the setup of Sapper things down a bit, but the service stands, nonethe-
Support was the untimely death of a brother sap- less. With 10 new volunteers ready to get to work,
per (a private soldier in the Corps of Royal Engi- their training will pursue as soon as it is safe to
neers) in the Autumn of 2014, who took own life as do so. Tim described Sapper Support as a “veter-
a result of suffering from PTSD. an-run charity for veterans”, meaning as long as
you have served in the military, you are welcome // VETERENS
The helpline is staffed by veterans and 999 person- to volunteer your time and services to the charity. ARE GIVEN
nel. As Tim is now a full-time firefighter, the charity
has extended its services to the 999 community. Intrigued on how the coronavirus outbreak has OWNERSHIP TO
Veterans and veterans within the 999 community impacted the soldiers who call in to use the ser-
are thus able to access the help they need, when- vice, Tim detailed how repeat callers have phoned THE START OF
ever they need it. in to say that they have enjoyed the quietness of
lockdown, stating the veterans are “generally lik- THEIR RECOVERY
Whilst providing both emotional and physical sup- ing and benefiting from the isolation”. Without the
port to veterans suffering with PTSD and other as- stress of life’s mundane activities such as going
sociated mental health issues, the charity is also to work and sitting in endless hours of traffic, the
MAGAZINE // 30 ing that crucial diagnosis. with their family and loved ones, as well as focus Tim Evers - founder of Sapper Support, suited in his firefighter’s outfit. MAGAZINE // 31
soldiers are now in a position to gain quality time
able to speed up the process of recovery by financ-
on their well-being by upping exercise.
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