Ebbw Vale veteran Phillip Gordon served as an ordnance specialist in the British Army for 23 years between 1982 and 2004, including active service in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq. After leaving the Armed Forces, Phillip worked successfully in the logistics sector until he developed PTSD. Unable to continue working as a warehouse manager, Phillip was referred to The Poppy Factory by Veterans NHS Wales, and employment support helped him hone new skills in peer mentoring, mental health and wellbeing. He’s now thriving in a new job supporting other veterans facing challenges, as a housing support worker with the charity Alabaré.
First steps in a new direction
Phillip said: “I’m proud of my time in the Army. But I have post-traumatic stress disorder from my service, and when I came across The Poppy Factory, I was going through a bad part of that experience and couldn’t go back to my job as a warehouse manager.
“I’d been supported by Veterans NHS Wales, which helps veterans who are dealing with PTSD. My peer mentor, Damon, really helped me. He organised breakfast clubs for four of us over six weeks, which was really good because it got us out of the house. Damon introduced me to wood carving, which I really enjoyed, and we still do that together. It takes your mind off everything – you can just concentrate on what you’re doing and the piece of wood you’re working on.”
Inspired to help others
Phillip had a desire to help other veterans in situations like his own, after a warehouse colleague who had been highly effective began to withdraw and show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.
He said: “I gave him some numbers to phone, and I stayed with him while he made the calls. It gave me a good feeling afterwards, I felt like I’d really helped and had influenced someone’s life in a positive way. With the right support, he came back to the way he had been before.
“It was Damon who put me in touch with Kirsty, my Employment Consultant at The Poppy Factory. Kirsty found me courses to go on and I threw myself into mental health first aid and learning about anxiety, depression, and wellbeing. I wanted to have the right skills to move forward.
“Kirsty was there for me all the time. Whenever I wanted to talk, she was at the end of the phone. There was no feeling of being rushed, it was like talking to a good friend. The effort she put in made me feel like I was the only person she was dealing with, even though she has helped lots of other veterans. She was brilliant and I can’t thank her enough.
Putting new skills into practice
“After I was supported by The Poppy Factory, I was able to find a job as a housing support worker with the charity Alabaré. Veterans who are homeless come to us and we help them through whatever journey they need to take, until they’re able to get their own property. We can help them sort their finances and help them find a house, and we can also help them build resilience, confidence, skills and wellbeing through our Boots on the Ground programme.
“Alabaré has a house in Pontypridd where a group of veterans live, and I go there every day to speak to them. There’s another house I’ve started going to in Cardiff, too.
When I’m talking to the people I work with, I introduce myself as a veteran and I talk to them about my journey, which helps build up a bit of rapport. I know what they’re going through, and if they ask me I’ll tell them about what I’ve been through, but I don’t want to force it on them because it might not help. I try to break down the barriers that they’ve built and get them communicating with me. The main thing is to try to keep things moving forward.”
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Wood carving photo by Philip Swinburn on Unsplash