Did you know? About our armed forces and veteran hubs?
Our Arun Direct staff have been attending community hubs across the Arun District for over a year now, providing support to our veterans. We have several Armed Forces Champions at Arun District Council who regularly attend these meetings.
Our representatives deal with any concerns or queries that relate to the council. They have extensive knowledge of all departments and the services they provide, and can advise on all sorts of information, including Council Tax, cleansing, elections, housing support, anti-social behaviour, benefits, environmental health, car parks, building control, planning and emergency housing.
The council have an 'Armed Forces Community Covenant,' read more here: Armed Forces Community Covenant | Arun District Council
Our next meetings:
Thursday, 4 June - 9.30am to 11am
Saturday, 13 June - 10am till midday
Both at the RAF Association (RAFA) Bognor Regis - Holy Cross Church Hall, Chichester Road, North Bersted PO21 5AU (opposite the Pink Pub)
More details can be found here: RAFA381 Bognor Regis
The Littlehampton and Bognor Regis Armed Forces and Veteran breakfast clubs (AFVBC) were set up in 2018 to support and provide a community for serving and retired veterans from the military.
Formerly held at the Corn Stores, meetings are now at the Dolphin Sports Bar, 34 High Street Littlehampton, BN17 5ED.
They offer a bottomless brew - a donation will be welcome, but only if you can afford it. There is no formal membership form to complete, but you will be expected to have a connection to the military in a significant way.
We suggest you apply for veteran ID card here: Apply for an HM Armed Forces Veteran Card - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) This card allows ex-forces personnel to prove that they have served and gain access to help, discount schemes and importantly for Arun District Housing allocations, and it would indicate that someone should be receiving extra help when applying for the housing list. It's a simple online form, and just requires a National Insurance number, service number, and a form of photo ID.
As stated on the AFVBC website: “Behind closed doors we try to offer support discreetly in addition to the brew and chat by attempting to resolve long term issues through peer support, direct welfare assistance for short term issues and signposting for longer term solutions. We encourage all that need support to embrace the availability of help and to let us lead them as to what is needed.”
Since establishment, they have gained the Association of Service Drop-in Centres (ASDIC).
All you need to do is show up and enjoy a cuppa and a chat - you will be very welcome!
For further information on what they do, times and venues, click on this link: