Stories

Stories:

We will publish stories of ex service personnel whose lives have been affected by homelessness.
Also stories of ex service personnel that would like to have their say about the way all ex service personnel are treated.

Please send your story to: Your Stories

	I would like to thank Soldiers Off The Street (S.O.T.S) for what they did for me in October 2009 when I had no where to stay and would have ended up sleeping on the streets of London , had it not been for them I would have just become another statistic. Testimonial from, Nicholas Platzer.
	Dear Bill, I would like to thank you and your staff for all the help you gave me at the beginning of the year when I was made homeless due to my problems with PTSD. I have now settled in my new home that you found for me and am in constant touch with Robert Stirling thanks to you having put him in touch with me, and I will be attending one of his courses shortly. I cannot thank you and your staff enough for all that you have done but when I am completely sorted out I would like to volunteer to help your organisation having seen first hand how quick you are to help ex service personnel when they are down on their luck as I was. Once again thank you so much for your help. Testimonial from, John (North Wales)
	It all happened back in 93 and it was advice from the family's officer that said I could stay on as they did not have a need for my accommodation for the foreseeable future but then he denied ever saying it and told me I was effectively a squatter! Good eh? The army took me to court after telling me I could stay in my married quarter until I found somewhere suitable but two weeks later I get a summons to court. Turns out they were selling the army houses off to a Japanese company just so they could rent them back? Another case of money being more important to this government than the lives of the people who serve without question. The day I was in court there were 5 others. The army brought 2 lawyers and I had none. Luckily the judge was sick of it all and he represented me and he made it clear to the army that he was disgusted that so many ex forces families were getting this treatment. SSAFA were very helpful and directed me to a housing assoc that housed me ASAP but it was a hole of a place miles away from my mates with no support so much for the army family eh. But beggars can't be choosers especially when the army family that I trusted let me down so badly. Brian Whiteside.
	I found the "Soldiers of the Streets" group on FB by complete accident and thankfully I did as the Officers and Admin of this site turned out to be my saving grace due to their support, Advice and Guidance during what would turn out to be the most horrendous situation I have ever found myself in. I was married to someone who served in the British Army and who had to leave due to suffering from PTSD due to his time spent in NI. On his Discharge from the Army our issues begun from being refused by the Council as a priority case for re housing regardless of health conditions classing us as vulnerable, to being charged £1000 in court costs to get evicted by the MOD so the Council would take seriously we were Homeless and also the uphill struggle of securing medical care for my husband who ended up having a complete breakdown before anyone would take seriously the situation I was in. It was disgusting the way we got screwed over by the system and as for the Army well less said the better there, The saying "Thanks for your service don't let the door hit u in the head on the way out!" comes into mind! Sadly. I was lucky I had the support of Bill Murray and Paul Jonno, From giving me contact details for both housing services and also support for my husband's PTSD that were invaluable too me at a time when id had more doors shut in my face than I care to remember while I dragged about banging on doors begging for someone to help me. They were there to hand the advice over, When I needed someone to be angry at and shout and scream over an email, They were there to listen, When I needed a shoulder to cry on and someone to tell me it would get better and to pick myself up and keep fighting for what was only right, They were there to give me that judge and kick up the bum I needed. I made a very good friend the day I joined "Soldiers of the Streets" and I will forever be grateful for the Kindness, Concern and Compassion showed towards me and my family when we needed someone the most. Leaving Service as a Family is a very isolating and confusing process that none of us are prepared for, To have people like Bill and Paul who work so hard to make a difference makes all the difference and I for one am a great advocate of their challenge they face to highlight the areas of concern that are effecting many Ex Serving Personnel more and more every day that passes. We should be ashamed as a Nation that we allow our Brave Heroes who are fighting for Our FREEDOM to be treated this way when their time is up. Please support this Charity as much as you possibly can and help make a difference because without the support I received from this group I do think I would have gone MAD myself. They were and remain to be a God Send and I want to Thank you all personally for the overwhelming Support YOU GAVE ME YOUR MY STARS AND I HAVE THE UPMOST RESPECT FOR YOU ALL. X Testimonial from, Nicola Pearce.
	This is not a story it is only here to show you where your story will go with your photo on the left. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and was administered by the War Office from London. Since 1963, it has been managed by the Ministry of Defence. The British Army consists of 112,100 regular soldiers (with a trained strength of 100,200 and a trained requirement of 102,200), which includes 3,600 Gurkhas, plus 34,000 Territorial Army soldiers, giving it a total of around 146,000 soldiers in June 2009. The full-time element of the British Army has also been referred to as the Regular Army since the creation of the reservist Territorial Army in 1908. The British Army is deployed in many of the world's war zones as part of both Expeditionary Forces and in United Nations Peacekeeping forces.
	This is not a story it is only here to show you where your story will go with your photo on the left. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and was administered by the War Office from London. Since 1963, it has been managed by the Ministry of Defence. The British Army consists of 112,100 regular soldiers (with a trained strength of 100,200 and a trained requirement of 102,200), which includes 3,600 Gurkhas, plus 34,000 Territorial Army soldiers, giving it a total of around 146,000 soldiers in June 2009. The full-time element of the British Army has also been referred to as the Regular Army since the creation of the reservist Territorial Army in 1908. The British Army is deployed in many of the world's war zones as part of both Expeditionary Forces and in United Nations Peacekeeping forces.
	This is not a story it is only here to show you where your story will go with your photo on the left. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and was administered by the War Office from London. Since 1963, it has been managed by the Ministry of Defence. The British Army consists of 112,100 regular soldiers (with a trained strength of 100,200 and a trained requirement of 102,200), which includes 3,600 Gurkhas, plus 34,000 Territorial Army soldiers, giving it a total of around 146,000 soldiers in June 2009. The full-time element of the British Army has also been referred to as the Regular Army since the creation of the reservist Territorial Army in 1908. The British Army is deployed in many of the world's war zones as part of both Expeditionary Forces and in United Nations Peacekeeping forces.
	This is not a story it is only here to show you where your story will go with your photo on the left. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and was administered by the War Office from London. Since 1963, it has been managed by the Ministry of Defence. The British Army consists of 112,100 regular soldiers (with a trained strength of 100,200 and a trained requirement of 102,200), which includes 3,600 Gurkhas, plus 34,000 Territorial Army soldiers, giving it a total of around 146,000 soldiers in June 2009. The full-time element of the British Army has also been referred to as the Regular Army since the creation of the reservist Territorial Army in 1908. The British Army is deployed in many of the world's war zones as part of both Expeditionary Forces and in United Nations Peacekeeping forces.
	This is not a story it is only here to show you where your story will go with your photo on the left. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and was administered by the War Office from London. Since 1963, it has been managed by the Ministry of Defence. The British Army consists of 112,100 regular soldiers (with a trained strength of 100,200 and a trained requirement of 102,200), which includes 3,600 Gurkhas, plus 34,000 Territorial Army soldiers, giving it a total of around 146,000 soldiers in June 2009. The full-time element of the British Army has also been referred to as the Regular Army since the creation of the reservist Territorial Army in 1908. The British Army is deployed in many of the world's war zones as part of both Expeditionary Forces and in United Nations Peacekeeping forces.