Erskine launches new Veterans Home Support service on Armed Forces Day

As the nation pauses to honour the courage and sacrifice of its military community on Armed Forces Day, Erskine, Scotland’s leading Veterans charity, has launched a major new home support service to aid former servicemen and women in post-service life. The £330,000 Erskine Veterans Home Support programme will deliver tailored, in-home assistance and companionship to Veterans across the West of Scotland.

Following a successful £250,000 pilot programme in Renfrewshire and Inverclyde, which recorded 100% satisfaction among participants, the Home Support service is now being rolled out more widely. Entirely funded by Erskine, the programme offers Veterans regular support designed to improve their independence, well-being and social connection with no cost to the individual.

The programme will deliver companionship, help with shopping and household tasks, and support in attending appointments and social activities. The impact of the initial pilot service has been overwhelmingly positive, with Veterans describing the service as lifesaving. The service has proven central to reducing loneliness, improving mental health and emotional well-being, and fostering independence.

The support service will be available to Veterans living within a 15-mile radius of Erskine Veterans Village in Renfrewshire, encompassing East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde and Glasgow. That radius can extend according to need, as part of this initial rollout.

Erskine estimates that while around 3,000 elderly Veterans currently live within the catchment area of Erskine nursing homes, up to 50,000 across Scotland could benefit from additional more practical holistic support. The expanded Home Support programme is designed to ensure that more Veterans, regardless of income or background, receive the help they need to live independently and with dignity.

Each Veteran receives a weekly visit lasting at least 1.5 hours, with the flexibility to increase frequency and duration based on individual needs. The service is designed to scale-up quickly, ensuring that support can be increased on short notice to meet daily or changing requirements.

Wing Commander Ian Cumming MBE, Chief Executive of Erskine, said: “By expanding services beyond our renowned residential care, Erskine is embracing a model that aligns with current societal preferences, providing flexible and accessible support to Veterans wherever they choose to live.

“To launch this expanded service on Armed Forces Day is especially meaningful as it's a day when the country rightly pauses to reflect on the service and sacrifice of our Armed Forces. It underlines our ongoing commitment to meeting the evolving needs of our Veterans in a way that is visible, impactful and deeply respectful of their service.

“Erskine Veterans Home Support has already had a transformative impact in Renfrewshire and Inverclyde, enabling Veterans to remain independent while benefiting from regular contact with Erskine’s trained and compassionate staff. Expanding throughout the West of Scotland is a natural and essential step, bringing this vital service to even more of those who need it.

“This is just the first step in expansion of the service. Our vision is to continue extending this programme across Scotland, ensuring that every Veteran, no matter where they are, can access the support they need to thrive. As demand grows in the West, and emerges in other places, Erskine will give due consideration to further growth and regional replication of this model.”

Wing Commander Cumming added: “With financial and time pressures on the NHS and social care services now greater than ever, we believe that the generous amount of time allocated to each of our Home Support visits will enable Veterans to live better and remain in their own homes while receiving tailored, high-quality support from our highly trained staff.

“To launch this service on Armed Forces Day is to reaffirm a national promise: when people join the armed forces, they sign a social contract with society. However, when they leave, society does not always repay that debt. Erskine holds up society’s end of the bargain, and through Home Support, we hope to ensure this commitment is honoured in new and relevant ways, providing brighter ‘Futures for the Brave’.”

Contact Erskine Veterans Home Support by calling Gordon Johnston on 0141 814 4576 or by emailing homesupport@erskine.org.uk. For further information on this service, visit: Erskine Veterans Home Support | Erskine Veterans Charity

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For further information please contact Susan Hamilton, Communications Officer, on 0141 814 4719 or email susan.hamilton@erskine.org.uk

Notes to Editors

Erskine Veterans Charity is more than a charity — it’s a community, a family, and a lifeline for Scotland’s Veterans and their loved ones. Since 1916, we’ve provided expert care and unwavering support for ex-Service men and women, continually evolving to meet the changing needs of those who’ve served our country.

As Scotland’s leading provider of care for Veterans and their spouses, Erskine continues to make a meaningful difference in the lives of Veterans as the only charity in Scotland to offer such a wide-ranging suite of person-centred services for our beneficiaries.

 Erskine delivers outstanding nursing, residential, and dementia care in our specialist homes on the East and West coasts. However our support extends beyond care homes: through our Veterans Village in Bishopton, we provide 44 family cottages, five Assisted Living Apartments, and 23 Transitional Supported Accommodation Apartments for Veterans of various ages and life stages.

We also help Veterans thrive within their own local communities. Our Activity Centres in Bishopton and Forres, offer a safe space for Veterans to come together with like-minded people to connect, engage in purposeful activities, learn new skills, and access support. In addition our regional Home Support service offers older Veterans the friendly assistance which they need to live well with independence and dignity in their own home.

 At Erskine, we don’t just care for Veterans — we care about them.

The generosity of our supporters allows the charity to maintain our commitment to care for Scotland’s Veterans – without donations we simply cannot continue this work.

To find out more about Erskine Veterans Charity’s work please visit our website at www.erskine.org.uk, follow on twitter @ErskineCharity via Facebook www.facebook.com/ErskineVeteransCharity. To donate directly to Erskine, please visit Erskine.org.uk/donate.

Erskine Veterans Charity | Company No. SC174103 | Registered Charity No. SC006609 | The Erskine Home, Erskine Veterans Village, Bishopton, PA7 5PU