I'm from Sunderland. When I left the Army I was suffering from PTSD and mental health problems. I became addicted to the pain killers that had been prescribed to help me with a serious back injury. For two years I suffered alone: there were no services for people like me in Sunderland. When I recovered, I vowed to set something up so that no-one would have to go through what I did.

In just two years, Veterans in Crisis has grown to be the primary voluntary sector agency for veterans in Sunderland. We have filled a vacuum - and how!

We have the services - but nowhere to call our own. We need a building to run our services from. That's where you come in: please help us to raise the £125,000 we need to buy our own place. You will be helping us - and every veteran in Sunderland. 

Our Crowdfunder target

Aviva's Crowdfunder opportunity came along at just the right time - we are launching our year-long campaign to buy our building on 4 March. We already have some impressive support: Ross Kemp popped in and left this message for you:

We have been contacted by so many other people who want us to succeed - like Frank Bruno 

We know that £125,000 is a lot of money - but it is a LOT of building! We are buying 1 Roker Avenue, Sunderland. Four storeys high, it will give us our own office, a drop-in for veterans, 24-hour emergency accommodation for a veteran (and even his or her family!) and therapy and learning spaces. We have even fitted a recording studio into the loft, where we record our weekly podcast 

Rewards!

We produce our own range of merchandise - as you can see from the picture of Frank Bruno and the film of Ross kemp. We'll be creating a unique range just for this campaign - and you can have some! Anyone who pledges £20 will get a VICS tee shirt; £30 and you'll get a hoodie, and £50 and you'll get the shirt, hoodie and a beanie. If you pledge £1000, we will give you all that and we'll host you in a Director's box at a Sunderland FC match. 

More about VICS

We have only been going for two years, but we are already the primary voluntary sector provider of services in Sunderland for veterans. We have won five awards  - including the national and very prestigious Health Service Journal military and civilian health partnership award with our partners Sunderland CCG. (That's me with James Nesbitt on the left)

We have ambitious plans for the future too. Everything we do is led by our members, and housing is high on the list of their needs. That means that we’ll be developing our own housing stock. Watch this space! #veteranshelpingveterans