VCS Provides Support Through Bereavement

Finding a way to manage grief is necessary to lead to a future in which your loss can be remembered honourably and without pain.  VCS can provide pastoral care to veterans and their families facing issues around death and personal loss which are unique to you.  We can also conduct funerals and memorial events, as well as mark anniversaries and Remembrance, together with the support of local faith communities.

VCS Encourages Life Review and Reflection

VCS supports veterans and their families through moments of change and crisis in their lives. We encourage personal reflection and suggest coping strategies around a range of issues.

Conversations around ‘Leaving Service’ or ‘Retirement’ encourages reflection on past service and concerns you may have about returning to civilian life.  This could include feelings of isolation, loneliness, lack of purpose and fitting back into family and community life.  We aim to connect veterans with other veterans and with local community and services provided for them by others.

Returning to civilian life can open up ‘Relationship’ issues with partners, family and friends.  VCS can support you through this, but they can also be there for you at times of celebration, for example by leading weddings and baptisms.

VCS Understands Moral Injury

VCS supports veterans whose sense of worth, identity and life’s values have been compromised by trauma.  We can help those living with shame and guilt by working through issues of the past and finding forgiveness.  We then encourage veterans with new purpose, meaning and identity to support their local communities.