Lincolnshire Armed Forces Community

The Armed Forces Community in Lincolnshire comprises of serving personnel and their families throughout the county and the main bases are:

• RAF Waddington
• RAF Digby
• RAF Coningsby
• RAF Cranwell
• Prince William of Gloucester Barracks, Grantham
• Sobraon Barracks, Lincoln

In addition there are reserve personnel and nearly 45,000 veterans living within Lincolnshire.

• Lincolnshire also has the highest number of serving RAF personnel in the country
• Lincolnshire has the second highest number of veterans in England
• And has the second highest number of service children in education in Lincolnshire schools

The 2021 Census showed:

• At an ‘upper-tier council’ level, Lincolnshire has the fourth highest proportion of veteran residents, aged 16+, in the UK
• Lincolnshire is third in terms of actual number of veterans, with 44,810 at the time of the 2021 census

CVS Lincolnshire work collaboratively and in partnership with local authorities, military charities and other third-party organisation to support the Armed Forces community and uphold the Armed Forces Covenant.

The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise by the nation ensuring that those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces, and their families, are treated with fairness and respect in the communities, economy, and society they serve with their lives and are not disadvantaged by their service.

The Armed Forces Covenant Partnership for Lincolnshire is a forum of 56 public bodies, councils, health, community and voluntary organisations and the Armed Forces Community to ensure the Covenant is honoured within Lincolnshire.

It brings all partners together, to work collaboratively and in unison with the same objectives and aspirations to support the Armed Forces Community within Lincolnshire. The Partnership provides leadership and direction and monitors the delivery of the Armed Forces Covenant by all signatories within Lincolnshire.

CVS Lincolnshire, currently holds a Silver Award for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme and supports the Armed Forces Community in Lincolnshire through the following:

• Seat at the Armed Forces Covenant Partnership Board
• Attendance at the Lincolnshire, Military, Veterans & Wellbeing Network
• Appointed Armed Forces Lead for organisation and Armed Forces Champions
• Social Prescribing, Community, Development & Volunteering
• Funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust to deliver Serving Families On the Move Programme, supporting newly relocated service families to settle into life in Lincolnshire. Further details regarding the Military Move and Mingle project being delivered by delivered by CVS Lincolnshire can be found by following this link to ??
• Host and Support Veterans Support Service Brew & Banter & Women’s only group
• Attend and support events and open days for the Armed Forces Community
• Network with NHS partners, military charities, organisations and services and to ensure collaborative working in support of the Armed Forces Community

The Lincolnshire Armed Forces Community Directory brings together a wide range of national, regional and local organisations, providing support and advice to people currently serving in the armed forces, their families and veterans, as well as those being posted to the county.

The directory contains a wide range of services which provide support and advice about:

• Physical and mental health
• Finance
• Benefits and hardship
• Children, young people and families
• Employment and training
• Support and social groups
• Housing and homelessness

Follow this link to view the Armed Forces Community Directory in Lincolnshire on the Connect to Support Lincolnshire website.

Paul Drury (Lincolnshire Armed Forces Community Covenant Officer) and Andy Garner (Senior Link Worker for Lincoln City) celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day and reflect on the work that is happening in Lincolnshire to support our armed forces communities and veterans. 

Paul talks about the new Lincolnshire Armed Forces Community Directory and Andy also shares some examples of how this has been put into action to support people.

To listen to this podcast follow this link to the Podbean website.

The RAF Families Federation exists to make life better for Service personnel and their families, at home and overseas.

They provide reliable information on the topics that matter most to you, support you through to the resolution of problems resulting from Service and make long-term positive changes happen for the Armed Forces Community. 

For more information follow this link to the RAF Families Federation website.

The majority of female veterans transition to civilian life well and do not need additional support however for those that do, all organisations need to do more to make sure they get the right support at the right time and in the right way.

The Supporting Female Veterans Toolkit is for Charities – Military and Civilian, Statutory Services – Health, Social Care and Housing and Employers and offers key benefits including:

• Recognition that women also served in the UK Armed Forces, including frontline roles
• Recognition of the skills and talents female veterans have that can benefit a range of organisations
• Better outcomes for the female veterans you support – understanding their needs, how to engage with them and working smarter to get things right the first time
• Providing better support for your workforce by understanding who your workforce is and the skills they bring
• Better reputation of your organisation – increasing you profile as able to support and engage with female veterans in a way that matters to them
• Improved partnership and collaboration – Multi disciplinary team working and better able to collaboratively support female veterans quicker
• Increasing your own understanding and that of your organisation – professional and personal development

For more information follow this link to the Supporting Female Veterans Toolkit page on our website.

CVS Lincolnshire is actively engaged with our Lincolnshire Armed Forces Community, taking an active part in the Armed Forces Partnership board.

We hold the Silver award for the defence employer recognition scheme, and we are proud that we will go for Gold in the coming months.