A Renfrewshire MP has hailed the opening of a veterans support fund aimed at helping improve the lives of former service personnel and their families.
The Scottish Veterans Fund, created and supported financially by the Scottish Government, has £500,000 for projects across Scotland that support former armed forces members and their families.
A key priority for this year’s Fund is to make sure veterans and their families are supported in response to the ongoing cost of living crisis.
The fund will also target support for veterans who have left the Services early, as well as promoting collaboration between both veterans’ charities and non-veterans organisations.
Since the Scottish Government created the fund in 2008 almost 200 individual projects have been supported, receiving more than £2.3 million. In 2021, the annual funding provided was more than doubled to £500,000, with individual projects now able to bid for up to £50,000 a year.
Renfrewshire has particularly benefited from the Fund, with the Erskine charity receiving over £53,000 last year alone.
The reopening of the Fund was welcomed by Paisley and Renfrewshire North MP, Gavin Newlands, who said:
“Scotland’s veterans community has given a great deal to society and it is right that we do all we can to provide the best possible care and support when they return to civilian life.
“As a time when household budgets are under pressure as never before, it’s more important than ever that the fund responds to issues that veterans are currently facing and helps to support projects that will help veterans and their families through the cost of living crisis.
“The Scottish Government’s £500,000 funding will help groups provide the kind of help veterans need, including projects that provide new and innovative approaches to aiding our veterans community.
“I would encourage any group in Renfrewshire working to support veterans in our communities to see if they fit the bill and get an application in to help the work they do.”
More information on the fund and the application process can be found at: gov.scot/publications/scottish-veterans-fund-information, with bids closing on 19th November this year.