Film addressing stigma of mental health in Scotland’s Armed Forces community premiered at Holyrood

‘These people are going to bend over backwards to get you to the point where you can stand straight and walk down the road with a bit of pride in yourself again’

On Tuesday (March 21), Glasgow’s Helping Heroes (GHH) of SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity held an event – sponsored by Paul Sweeney MSP – in the Scottish Parliament.

The event celebrated the unique holistic service GHH, which a two-year long independent service evaluation, funded by the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) and conducted by the University of Stirling, identified as “vital” and “life changing” to Glasgow’s Armed Forces community.

The report found that GHH produced a Social Return On Investment (SROI) of £6.63 for every £1 spent during the evaluation period.

As the evaluation was conducted during the Covid pandemic, and included the multiple lockdowns where several of the measures in SROI generation such as employment and housing were effectively shut for all of society, the researchers estimate that in “normal circumstances” the SROI for GHH would exceed £11 for every £1 spent.

During the evening, guests heard from Paul Sweeney MSP, Chairman of SSAFA Sir Gary Coward, GHH’s Manager Rachel Tribble, and FiMT’s Chief Executive Tom McBarnett.

The highlight of the evening, however, was the launch of short film, Courage, which addresses the stigma surrounding mental health challenges for Armed Forces personnel.

The film focuses on the strength it takes to seek help and also how once a person walks through the door at GHH, they will find a team that will, as one of the beneficiaries says in the film says:

“These people are going to bend over backwards to get you to the point where you can stand straight and walk down the road with a bit of pride in yourself again.”

The film features two GHH beneficiaries, Patrick, and Joe, who were among the guests at Holyrood as well as Alan, their GHH peer support worker. Once the film ended and the audience erupted into applause, Alan was heard to say to both men how proud he was of them. The bond between them was palpable.

More than 65 guests were in attendance and the evening was hailed a success.