Thrive Together: Empowering veterans and families in London

The Poppy Factory leads the Thrive Together programme in London, bringing partners closer together to empower London’s Armed Forces community.

Funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, Thrive Together builds on the success of the previous Veterans Places, Pathways and People programme, which had established connections with other organisations in support of veterans and their families.

Collaborative working is at the core of Thrive Together. We worked with partners to develop a London Strategic Plan, guided by a steering group of key stakeholders. Representatives from the NHS, Ministry of Defence, Office for Veterans’ Affairs and key charity partners contributed to the Plan and is overseeing its development and delivery.

The Thrive Together London programme is now in its final phase with a focus on sustainability to ensure the good work continues.

Our delivery partners are:

Stoll
Defence Medical Welfare Service
Fighting with Pride
The Fighting Chance
The Comedy School
Recruit for Spouses
University of West London
Defence Garden Scheme
Royal Hospital Chelsea

Our strategy

 The London Thrive Together Strategic Plan is built around four pillars of work:

The London Armed Forces Network: The London Armed Forces network has been established for more than 10 years. We are investing in the network to create a bigger and more effective organisation supporting veterans and family members, building a knowledge hub of support across London and establishing communities of practice to share learning.

London Armed Forces Network Communications: we are investing in communication for the network to develop and deliver a coordinated, London-wide communications plan, focusing on under-represented groups and ensuring clarity on the support available for veterans in London. The London Armed Forces Network website pages now provide a digital platform for the organisation.

Navigator service: veterans and family members with multiple complex needs, particularly those who receive treatment through Op Courage or the wider NHS system; or who are being supported through the Department for Work and Pensions, have been offered one-to-one support. The Veterans Navigator service was piloted during the Veterans Places, Pathways and People Programme We worked across three three organisations offering the Navigator Service to ensure it is a consistent high-quality.

Collaborative projects: We invested in collaborative projects, providing easy access to activities that promote improved wellbeing and as a path for onward referral to more specialist services. Activities offered by the programme included a comedy course, gardening sessions, boxing training, music production workshops, wellbeing walks and more.

In developing the London Strategic Plan, we carried out a comprehensive consultation to engage as many veterans, family members, organisations and statutory bodies as possible.

Thrive Together is delivering significant enhancements in wellbeing, community integration, and access to services for all veterans who live or work in London.

To contact the Thrive Together team and the London Armed Forces Network: admin@lafn.co.uk