Armed forces support

South Tyneside Council is committed to recognising the sacrifices our service men and women make, and to helping with the pressures that service personnel and their families can face in adapting back to civilian life.

If you have served in the Armed Forces and need a helping hand to get back into civilian life, these pages contain lots of useful information.

Alternatively, call into any Council customer service centre, housing office or welfare rights centre, where staff can signpost you to the organisations that can help.

We can support you if you have ever served in the armed forces and need help with housing or are facing homelessness. This includes regulars, reserves and merchant navy.

For more information, visit: South Tyneside Homes: Housing support for the armed forces community.

The aims of the service is to allow veterans and ex-service men and women to meet, socialise, network and get information about support available in South Tyneside.

This includes anyone who needs transitional support.

NAAFI Break is working to make sure that ex-armed forces personnel get the support they need at the right time.

For more information about NAAFI Break contact Joe Mills on 07850 584 960.

Come along

All serving, reservists, veterans and family members are welcome to come along. 

Date and time

A drop-in service takes place on the first and third Wednesday of every month, 10am to 12noon.

Location

NAAFI Break is held at Action Station, Boldon Lane, South Shields, NE34 0LZ.

[googlemap location="Action Station, Boldon Lane, South Shields, NE34 0LZ" expand title="Map of Action Station"]

Find out more about NAAFI Break 

Twitter: NAAFI Break South Tyneside

Facebook: NAAFI Break South Tyneside

There are lots of local and national services available to support members of the armed forces community, with things like employment, housing, mental health, money, and more.

Armed Forces Support Service

The Armed Forces Support Service is the first point of contact for members of the armed forces community in South Tyneside.

The service supports all members of the armed forces community, including those who have left (regardless of how long ago) or are leaving, as well as reservists and family members.

The service can help with all kinds of queries and situations, and can signpost you to other services or groups who might be able to help.

To contact the service, call South Tyneside Homes on: 0300 123 6633

Types of support

There are lots of local and national services available to support members of the armed forces community, with things like: 

• Advice and practical support
• Employment
• Housing
• Mental health
• Money
• Drug support

Or, view a list of all Armed Forces support services.

Advice and practical support

• Armed Forces Support Service
• Blesma, The Limbless Veterans
• Blind Veterans UK
• Forces For Change
• Forward Assist (Veteran Support Charity)
• Help for Heroes
• NAAFI break drop-in service
• Royal British Legion
• SSAFA (The Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association)
• Veterans Welfare Service (VWS)

Employment

• Career Transition Partnership (CTP)
• Demob Job
• RFEA (Forces Employment Charity)
• The Poppy Factory
• Walking With The Wounded

More services that can help with employment include:  

• Training courses through South Tyneside Works
• JobCentre Plus

Mental health

• Combat Stress
• Veterans at Ease

See more mental health services.

Housing

• Armed Forces and Veterans Launchpad
• Changing Lives

For more information see Armed forces housing (South Tyneside Homes). 

Money and welfare

• Veterans UK

More services that can help with money and welfare include: 

• Welfare Support Service
• Citizen's Advice Bureau

Drugs and alcohol 

See a list of drug, alcohol, substance misuse services.

Armed Forces Forum

We are committed to helping the armed forces community in South Tyneside.

We have set up an Armed Forces Forum to help ex-service men and women, serving officers and their families get the help and support they need from the Ministry of Defence, statutory providers, charities and voluntary sector.

The forum aims to:

• Improve communication and understanding between agencies
• Identify opportunities for greater synergy between agencies
• Share information about best practice
• Help to co-ordinate action to reduce health inequalities and improve services which impact on health and well-being of the armed forces community
• Raise any other issues of concern

For further information, please contact Hayley Johnson at South Tyneside Council on 0191 424 7353.

Armed Forces Covenant

South Tyneside Council has signed the Armed Forces Community Covenant, showing its active support for serving personnel, veterans and their families. 

The Armed Forces Community Covenant is a statement of mutual support between a civilian community and its local armed forces community. It commits the borough to key principles, which are that service personnel, veterans and their families should:

• not be at a disadvantage when they try to access public services such as education, employment, housing, or health care
• be given special consideration where appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most, such as the injured and the bereaved

The South Tyneside Armed Forces Community Covenant was signed on 1 December 2011, and the Council has remained committed to the principles. Councillor Paul Dean is our Armed forces champion.

See the South Tyneside Armed Forces Community Covenant

Armed forces picture gallery

Armed Forces Covenant Trust

The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust run a programme that makes grants of up to £20,000 for local projects that support the armed forces community and a programme to bring armed forces and civilian communities together through the Armistice and Armed Forces Communities programme.

They also have a programme that allows organisations to work together to provide better support for veterans that are experiencing serious stress, along with their carers and families.

For the first 3 years, the Covenant Fund was based within the Ministry of Defence, and in April 2018, following a decision that it should become independent, it moved to the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.

The fund is a promise by the nation ensuring that those who serve or have served in the armed forces and their families, are treated fairly.

Funding themes

The Armed Forces Covenant Fund has 4 broad funding themes:

1. removing barriers to family life
2. extra support after service for those that need help
3. measures to integrate military and civilian communities and allow the armed forces community to participate as citizens
4. non-core healthcare services for veterans

For more information visit Armed Forces Covenant.

South Tyneside Council is supporting the National Veterans' Walk charity to create a new walkway feature in the North Marine Park in South Shields.

It will be made up of personalised stones bearing the names, regiment and years of service of both serving and former members of the armed forces.

Granite plaques

Orders are now being taken for the granite plaques, which can be bought by service men and women themselves or by their loved ones as a gift or tribute to others as A Lasting Tribute to Proud Service.

The stones are priced at £299 each, available to order through the National Veterans Walk website. 

The names of those dedicated are also added to the National Veterans' Walk Roll of Honour.

A way of paying tribute

It will be a wonderful tribute, not only to those servicemen and women who have passed away, but to military personnel who continue to sacrifice so much for their country.

The beautiful, personalised stones that will make up this new footpath will act as a permanent reminder of their proud service for future generations to see and reflect. It's an honour to be supporting the charity to create this special addition in North Marine Park, and only feet away from our beloved Tommy sculpture.

Once a batch of engraved stones are processed, and subject to planning permission, the stones will be laid in phases.

The new pathway follows a similar tribute in Sunderland's Mowbray Park - the first of its kind in the UK - in a project set up by the family of Private Nathan Cuthbertson, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2008, and city businessman Rob Deverson.

2024

South Tyneside to Honour Armed Forces this Sunday - 19 June

Mayor Receives Gold Award - 19 January

Gold Standard Commitment to Armed Forces Personnel - 11 January 

2023

South Tyneside Remembrance Services - 6 November

Mayor Helps to Launch Local Poppy Appeal - 19 October

Attention! - Dedicate a Stone for Forces Footpath - 23 June

Sunday Salute for Armed Forces - 19 June

Tributes to Armed Forces in South Tyneside this Sunday - 13 June

2022

Armed Forces Support in the Spotlight - 18 November

Tributes on Armistice Day - 11 November

South Tyneside to Unite for Remembrance Services - 9 November

Mayor Helps to Launch Local Poppy Appeal - 31 October

Armed Forces Celebrated in South Tyneside - 20 June

South Tyneside to Pay Tribute to Armed Forces - 13 June

2021

A Decade of Support for our Armed Forces - 21 December

South Tyneside Remembers - 15 November

Remembering the Fallen - 11 November

New Home for Tommy Silhouette - 9 November

South Tyneside Remembrance Services - 8 November

Mayor Helps to Launch Poppy Appeal - 3 November

'Forever' Home for Ex-Forces Mark - 24 June

Air, Land and Sea - an Online Tribute to the Armed Forces - 22 June

Support Officer Helps Veterans Leaving the Forces- 22 March

Armed Forces Support Available During Pandemic - 5 March

2020

Online Act of Remembrance this Sunday - 5 November

Every Poppy Counts- 22 October

Virtual Tributes Planned to Remember the Fallen - 19 October

Veterans Stay Connected in South Tyneside - 26 June

Supporting the Armed Forces Community - 24 June

Armed Forces Day Goes Digital for 2020 - 23 June

South Tyneside to mark VE Day with online celebrations - 5 May

Remembering War Heroes This Anzac Day - 25 April

Attention! New Patron for NAAFI Break! - 11 March

Leisure Concession for War Pensioners - 2 March

South Tyneside Armed Forces Forum in Spotlight - 23 January

Historical Events Set to be Remembered in Special Way - 23 January 

Armed Forces Day

South Tyneside celebrates Armed Forces Day once a year on a Sunday in June. Every year, thousands of people turn out in force to pay tribute to military organisations in South Tyneside with a colourful military parade and service followed by a family fun day at South Shields seafront.

Watch our commemorative film

Watch our fantastic Air, Land and Sea-themed film below as we celebrate Armed Forces Day 2021.

The film opens with a spectacular scene featuring free-falling skydivers. It also involves the Armed Forces Day flag being passed between various organisations against the backdrop of popular Borough landmarks, before being hoisted up on the flagpole at the 324 Air Cadets base in Northfield Gardens, South Shields.

"Our Heroes: Their Stories" features interviews, footage and still photography, telling the stories of South Tyneside's service men and women.

The film includes moving stories from serving personnel and veterans, and shows how South Tyneside was affected by the First and Second World Wars as well as more recent conflicts in Korea, Borneo, the Falklands, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The film, which was shot by North East company Media Partnership, was part of a major exhibition funded by the Ministry of Defence that appeared in local libraries from June to September 2013.

The exhibition included historic photos and artefacts from the world wars as well as more recent conflicts.

If you need help with any of the information on these pages contact Armed Forces Support. 

To get in touch call the Armed Forces Support Officer, based in South Tyneside Homes, on 0300 123 6633.