Our aims

The aims of Veterans Support Group Ballymena are:

• To improve the mental health and wellbeing of all ex-service and serving personnel.
• To help reduce social isolation and improve integration into the community of ex-service and
serving personnel and their families.
• To promote educational and recreational activities, mutual support and joint aid among our
members.
• To develop a health and wellbeing support hub for ex-service and serving personnel and
their families.

 

Who we are

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The Veteran Support Group Ballymena (VSGB) formed in January 2023 to act as an organising and
coordinating body for veteran support services within Ballymena and the wider community. The
VSGB is a membership organisation and is governed by a committee of 12 volunteers.
Anyone that is a veteran from any of the services, or anyone that agrees to advance the aims of the 
VSGB, can apply for membership. Being a member will enable you to avail of the full range of social,
cultural, educational and support service opportunities delivered by the VSGB.
VSGB also provide various limited services to non-members and the wider community

 

What we do

 

The Veteran Support Group Ballymena deliver a comprehensive support programme covering social,
cultural, educational and health initiatives creating opportunities for the veteran community to
engage with and interact with communities from different backgrounds and traditions.
We continue to provide.

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• Monthly veteran’s breakfast for members and non-members

• Social and cultural events for members and the wider community

• Educational visits on a local and cross border basis.

• Members survey

 

The VSGB committee are also committed to the development of a safe space support hub. This
initially will be piloted as a virtual hub and will provide a vital point of contact for the veteran
community that are facing challenges and difficulties including mental health crisis to receive some
short term intervention and referral onto other professional services.
This virtual hub will offer a safe space for vulnerable veterans to connect with trained veteran
volunteers providing a listening ear and signposting to other services including housing, health and
well-being, training and education.

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Background

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Following an increase of tragic early deaths of veterans and increased attendance at funerals for ex
comrades, The Ballymena veterans' breakfast was formed in 2020 based in the Services Club
Ballymena. Two ex-servicemen (Colin Brown and Duane Johnston) saw the need to provide an
opportunity for informal social gatherings on a monthly basis for the veteran community primarily,
but not exclusively, residing in the Ballymena area. The veterans breakfast started out as a self-
funded venture with 6 or 7 veterans meeting on the first Saturday of each month helping to promote
the positive mental health benefits for veterans from meeting together in a safe, supportive, friendly
environment providing an opportunity to check in with each other and for information sharing.

 

In February 2022 an opportunity was created for the breakfast club to tap into a good relation
programme that was being delivered in the Ballymena area by Choice Housing Association. The
activity programme developed for the veterans included a mixture of cultural events at the
Ballymena Services club, visits to historical places of interest, including cross border visits, and
training in suicide prevention and first aid.  All activities were free for all attendees.

 

Building on the initial success of the programmes and activities, the volunteers within the group
became more organised and structured and in January 2023 officially formed the Veterans Support
Group Ballymena (VSGB) as an organising and coordinating body for veteran support services within
Ballymena and the wider community.