Taunton Association for the Homeless opens Victory House, East Reach, Taunton, for veterans

Victory House, in East Reach - once the Victoria Inn - that now offers eight bedroom accommodation, was officially opened last Friday.

Taunton Association for the Homeless (TAH) set up the project after realising there had been a rise in the number of ex forces using its services.

Its aims to address the problem of veterans who become homeless spend much longer sleeping rough than others without a roof over their head, as well as often facing more complex needs such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social isolation and institutionalisation.

TAH's vision is to create a service to better support these individuals with a dedicated offer that will help them move forward and recover from their trauma.

The first person to move into the new facility is Keith Bailey, who is hoping to rebuild his life after suffering PTSD that led to a nervous breakdown and even a spell in prison for burning down his own home.

Keith, 42, who was in the Royal Engineers until 1997, said: "I tried to kill myself a number of times and then had a bit of a hissy fit and burned my house down in Brixham in 2015.

"I spent two years in prison for arson. I'd never been in trouble with the law before that.

"I found out I'd been suffering from PTSD since 1995, but it was only diagnosed in January last year."

When he left prison in April last year, he lived with his parents for a short period before being recommended to TAH, who housed him in sheltered accommodation in William Street, before seeing if he would like to live in Victory House.

"It's really good," said Keith, who is following a programme that has given him more confidence and helped him cope more with life. "I love it here.

"It's going to be a great place. It will give ex Forces people the chance to rebuild their lives.

"It's not a long-term thing. I hope to get my own place in six to 12 months and then come back and give something back to the project.

"I'd been burying my head in the sand for so long and lost 20 years of my life. But now I'm really happy in myself."

The scheme has received funding from the Royal British Legion, while the armed forces charity SSAFA is furnishing the rooms, many other organisations have added their support and a crowdfunding initiative raised £12,000.

A number of former Sappers (Royal Engineers) and a team from Splash Community Projects put in plenty of hours to help get the premises up and running.

As well as providing secure, safe and welcoming accommodation for veterans, Victory House will also offer a specialised support service to assist with the rehabilitation and recovery of its residents.

It aims to house 12 people a year and four of the units or accessible for wheelchair use.

At last week's opening event, TAH chief executive Justin Roxburgh outlined how there are 100 million homeless people in the world, with 250,00 in the UK, of whom 7,000 are veterans.

"It's completely unacceptable, shameful," said Mr Roxburgh.

"Veterans are less likely to admit they are struggling with things. They have different issues such as PTSD, anger management and a history of drinking and other addictions.

"They leave the service sometimes without the right support.

"We felt we really needed a bespoke service for our veterans with flexible accommodation, quality housing and a system of structured support from trained professional people."

He added: "It isn't a home for life. It's a transition project, supporting people to get back into the community and then to hopefully come back to give support to other people.

"It's very much a community problem, with no Government money. We've had funding from a variety of sources, with lots of charities pulling together because we all feel something needs to be done."

A ribbon cutting ceremony at the opening event, which attracted dozens of guests, was carried out by Lieut Col Paul Maynard, Commanding Officer of 40 Commando Royal Marines, based at Norton Manor Camp.

He said: "The armed forces represents the very best of society. Our young generations are the best of society. They achieve amazing things.

"The most shameful of shames is those people finding themselves homeless.

"Hopefully they will come here and rebuild their lives that have been broken."

Lieut Col Maynard recounted the story of 18-year-old Royal Marine Owen Wasson who shot and killed a farmer he mistakenly believed to be a terrorist and later took his own life after failing to come to terms with "the horror of what he'd done".

He added: "The Government doesn't seem to have enough money to keep the armed forces running, let alone those who have passed through."

Sam Smalldon, of the Taunton branch of The Royal Engineers Association, said: "The veterans shouldn't be living on the streets - the Government should take care of them.

"When they return to Civvy Street, they can't get on with it. PTSD is a disease you can't see."

The Victory House project is being managed by veteran Daz Northover, operations manager at TAH.

He told the County Gazette: "This is a very exciting time for TAH.

"This project is purpose built to fit the needs of veterans who have given their all to our country.

"It will provide much needed support to people too proud to ask for it.

"They will have an opportunity to battle their demons and issues in a safe environment, but will be pushed to engage and mentor back into the service to help create the transition for future veterans."

Referrals to the service are now welcomed and TAH looks forward to working further with the RBL and other organisations, to provide the best support possible for the armed forces community. For further information, contact Rosie at TAH on rhather@tahltd.co.uk or 01823-271326.