Scottish Veterans Commissioner praises contribution of local ex-service personnel during Moray visit
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A NATIONAL representative for the veteran community has said that scarce rental properties and childcare are two of the biggest issues facing local ex-service personnel.
Lieutenent Commander (retired) Susie Hamilton, visiting Moray last week, also praised the contribution of veterans to the area and the positive attitudes of the local employers.
During her visit, Scottish Veterans Commissioner Lt Cmdr Hamilton visited RAF Lossiemouth, visiting a range of representatives and the station learning centre.
She also met the RAF Widow's Association and Moray Business Women.
Lt Cmdr Hamilton said it was important for her to hear the views of veterans, their families, and those organisations which interact with service personnel on a regular basis.
Employers in Moray are leading the way in supporting the veteran community and by benefitting from their skills, she added.
"It's not about veterans needing services and needing things given to them," she said.
"Veterans have a lot to offer to the communities that they're in.
"Employers here understand how much veterans can bring, and therefore are really happy to employ veterans.
"Which is something that's not the case across the whole country.
"And it's just good business sense, really, to employ veterans.
"It's not an act of altruism.
"Businesses should be falling over themselves to employ veterans."
However, the Scottish Veterans Commissioner also shared her concerns about the impact that a lack of affordable rental properties and childcare has on local veterans.
"There are some challenges around affordable rental housing," she said.
"That's actually not just for veterans, that is for everybody, but of course veterans are part of that community.
"And there are definitely some challenges around childcare: for looking at veterans getting into work; and also for spouses of serving people getting into work."
She added that loneliness was a huge problem for the veteran community.
"It happens in the civilian older community as well, but sometimes it is harder for veterans," she said.
"Because the veterans community maybe feel that they're not well understood, or they want to be with other veterans to get that sense of camaraderie and sense of belonging.
"So something like an activity centre helps to provide that kind of sense of belonging and can have a really positive impact, particularly on older people or people who are socially isolated.
"We know that social isolation really affects people's physical and mental health, and it's genuinely a killer.
"If we can do anything that will help reduce social isolation, provide that kind of natural friendship and sense of belonging, that can only be a positive thing for veterans – definitely."
Lt Cmdr Hamilton is currently working on her first set of recommendations, which are given to the Scottish Government to inform their policymaking.
She said that providing nationwide mental health support for veterans and measures to ease homelessness would feature heavily in the document.
Having attained her rank by working within the Marine Engineering Branch of the WRNS and the Royal Navy, Lt Cmdr Hamilton worked in the industry before she retired.
She was appointed the commissioner last year, after spending more than a decade volunteering within the SVC office.
It is important for veterans to publicly identify themselves as such, she added, because a wide range of support is available.
"I would always encourage people to identify as veterans when they're accessing services," she said.
"For example, with GPs – there's a scheme rolling out across Scotland now for veteran-aware GPs practices.
"You don't have to, it's a personal choice, but it can help services that are there.
"And there is a lot of support for veterans, but that support can't be accessed unless you say: 'I'm a veteran and looking for some sort of support'."
She also highlighted the contributions of families and women in supporting veterans, which can often be underestimated.
She said: "They're a very important part of our veterans community, which I think sometimes get a bit overlooked when overall policies have been developed.
"They are a very vibrant part of the community who are, some of them are veterans and military spouses.
"And are a great example of veterans and partners and members of the military community providing valuable contribution to the community, really.
"Well, I think, you know, I've heard, obviously, apart from the kind of challenges on rental accommodation and childcare, and I don't want to minimise the effect that not having good access to childcare can have.
"And that particularly affects women and women – serving women, women veterans and partners of serving people.
The work done by the armed forces in Moray by reaching out to schools to provide sessions and information was an example to be followed throughout Scotland, she said.
"I think there are some really good things happening here in Moray," she said.
"And in particular, we were hearing earlier about some work in schools to support service children, which sounds really interesting and I think will be really helpful.
"And that could potentially be an exemplar to then recommend to the rest of the country.
"You might want to look at what's happening in Moray and try and replicate it in areas where you've got high numbers of service children."
