Help for Heroes (H4H) is all about getting the best for the men and women of our Armed Forces, and we are proud to work with other service charities to make sure this happens.
Haig Housing Trust (HHT) was established by Haig Homes in 2008 to provide individual housing solutions for members of the ex-Service community in housing need, especially those with serious injury, disability or illness.
H4H are delighted to have committed £1m (subject to funding) a year to HHT's 'Coming Home' campaign for the next five years. The campaign is raising money to provide specially adapted and appropriate housing for the hundreds of Service personnel in need of rebuilding their lives.
Bryn Parry, CEO and Co-Founder; "Our task is to fix up these brave young men and women so that they are capable of leading the rest of their lives. That's where Coming Home comes in, by providing them somewhere appropriate and decent to live."
About Haig Housing Trust
Haig Housing Trust focuses on providing housing solutions for wounded Service Personnel medically discharged from the Armed Forces. This ranges from initial advice on general housing matters through to providing housing tailored to the very specific needs of a seriously disabled individual.
The majority of Service Personnel seeking housing help will have had little, if any, previous experience in buying or renting – many are young and live in military provided accommodation or, prior to that, with parents. After being medically discharged, as well as having to deal with the fact that their military career is over and learning to cope with their disability, they face losing their service provided home - this can be a daunting and stressful time.
This is where HHT steps in. They can assist in many ways including:
- Advice on adaptations
- Negotiating with estate agents and solicitors
- Payment of legal fees
- Outright purchase and rent back
- Shared Ownership Schemes.
HHT wants to ensure that a wounded serviceman's compensation or insurance payout doesn't have to be spent on property, allowing it last a lifetime, as is intended.
How the funding will be used
The funding provided by H4H will contribute towards HHT's 'Coming Home' campaign. 'Coming Home' aims to raise £20m in the next five years to provide tailored housing solutions for our wounded Heroes. Specially adapted homes cost £150,000 to £300,000, depending on location, and as such, the campaign aims to provide up to 100 much needed units.
The campaign has the full support of H4H and with over 50 cases on the HHT books already and new cases arising daily as the injured emerge from the rehabilitation process, this is as essential task and one that H4H is proud to support.
Case Study
Private Pa Modou Njie, 1 Mercian, had less than a month to go before the end of his six month tour, when he stepped on a IED whilst on a routine foot patrol. In the blast, Pa lost his left leg below the knee and right leg above the knee, but said he felt "lucky to be alive" as it was his third brush with death.
During his long and intensive period of recovery at Headley Court and Tedworth House, the Gambian national approached Haig Housing Trust for assistance with finding suitable housing for when he is discharged from the Army.
Pa has not let his injuries deter him from achieving other goals he has set himself, and he told HHT he wished to go to Aston University in Birmingham to study accountancy once he has been medically discharged from the Army. HHT began to identify suitable properties in Birmingham, and Pa fell in love with a house on a new build estate. As the house was still in the construction phase, HHT liaised with the builders, Persimmon Homes, to adapt the layout to suit Pa's needs. Two of the bedrooms were knocked together to create a large accessible bedroom for Pa, and the bathroom converted to a wet room. This left another bedroom and bathroom for when Pa has visitors. A stair lift is also to be fitted, provided by the Army. Persimmon have called it "The Haig Model" and HHT hope to be able to use it again for other cases requiring adapted properties.
Pa can't wait to get the keys to his brand new house in October. He said "I can't thank HHT enough. I didn't have a clue about how to start buying a house and would have found it physically very difficult to go out and look for one. I am very happy".
There are several ways to donate to the Coming Home campaign:
- Visit www.coming-home.org.uk to donate online
- Text Home18£10 (or any amount up to £10) to 70070
- Send a cheque made payable to "Haig Housing Trust" to Haig Housing Trust, 2nd Floor, Mountbarrow House, 6-20 Elizabeth Street, London, SW1W 9RB