This page contains references to suicide, this is a sensitive topic that will affect people in different ways. We understand if you would prefer, for any reason, not to engage in this subject.
While it takes strength to serve in the Armed Forces, it takes a different kind of strength to live life beyond injury. It could be the strength to learn to walk again, or to ask for help after 15 years of suffering in silence.
Together, we can help veterans overcome their daily battles and thrive. Veterans like Darren.
Darren was medically discharged after 20 years in the Army. The only way of life he’d known was snatched away from him. His support network was gone. In pain. Out of work. Suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder. Darren's troubles seemed endless, until he reached out to Help for Heroes.
“There's a few times in my life when things got too much and I thought the only way out would be suicide. It's not a nice way to feel.”
Darren's Mum, Julie, reached out to us for professional support to help Darren with his mental health, and this in turn gave him the confidence to find friends, employment and a purpose within his local community.
Julie
THE POWER OF A MUM’S LOVE
Julie talks of her shock upon discovering just how bad her son Darren’s mental was after leaving the Army. Her Mother’s instincts kicked in. She dropped everything and helped Darren through one of the toughest times of his life.
“My job was to get him into somewhere where he could seek the professional help that I was unable to give him”
WATCH JULIE'S FILM
ROSE
TENDING TO HIDDEN WOUNDS
Darren and Help for Heroes therapist, Rose, share an emotional reunion as they recount Darren’s journey through counselling which helped him find his place in the world again.
"It wasn't until I got counselling from Rose in Hidden Wounds that I realised I'd not been right for a long time. She literally put me back together."
Choir
FINDING MY VOICE AGAIN
Veteran Darren talks about the community, friendship and laughs he has enjoyed since joining the Help for Heroes Choir.
"Some of my happiest times over the last few years has been with the choir, 100 per cent."
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