Shropshire Star

Veterans sleep out in freezing temperatures in bid to save Combat Stress centre

Veterans are braving freezing temperatures to make a point – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder doesn’t disappear in December and neither will they.

Published
Peer Neale, front, Dave Hickman, Ian Hughes and Tony Jones prepare to sleep out in Newport

They’ve been fighting cuts at the Audley Court Combat Stress centre in Newport, which means vital residential treatment will no longer be available to former members of the forces.

Combat Stress provides mental health support for service personnel suffering with PTSD. Under the changes, veterans will be expected to go for day meetings or use applications like Skype during their treatment.

The group, all members of the now 2,000 strong Save Audley Court Combat Stress Facebook page, planned to stay in Shuker Fields, Newport, throughout the weekend.

More than 50 people marched through the town on Friday, before settling in to their tents at around 3pm.

Among them was father-of-six Pete Neale, 42, who set up the Facebook page earlier this month.

“We want to show that it doesn’t matter how cold it is, we mean business,” he said.

“We’re camping out for the weekend so that they can see we’ll keep it in the public eye until something changes.

“We want the government to acknowledge us. A lot of us have sent letters to MP, I’ve sent messages to Downing Street and it’s the same reply back. ‘We’ll pass you on to the MoD’. The MOD say we’re not their problem, because we’re not employed by them anymore. We feel we were working for the MoD, the Government and this country when we got PTSD, and now you won’t help us. I just think that’s wrong.”

This is the second demonstration in Newport against cuts at Audley Court. Veterans marched through the town in October before meeting with Sue Freeth.

Pete said that he felt the situation was better than it was six weeks ago.

“I’m happy how things have gone,” he said.

“It’s all small steps and things take time – we understand that as a group.”

Now the Facebook group are organising a fundraising drive to help to keep a ward at Audley Court running.

The plan, if they can raise the funds, is to give veterans a place to go when they’re feeling ill or stressed.

The respite will allow veterans to stay in touch and support each other in person, rather than relying on Combat Stress staff remotely.

“That’s one of the solutions that we’re happy about,” Pete said. “We’re just waiting now to see if Combat Stress can put that into place.

“I’ve looked at ideas that people have suggested on the group and put them towards Combat Stress, and one of them was the respite. With them not saying no straight away, it’s a bonus. It feels like we’ve still got a foot on the ladder.”

Originally the veterans marched against the cuts at Combat Stress, which will also see a number of staff members made redundant.

But since meeting with CEO Sue Freeth, they have changed their target. Now they are looking for the Government to improve their funding.

“We all signed on that dotted line, and now we’re asking for the Government to step up and help us,” Pete said. “We all feel like second hand citizens – we’re not asking for the world, we’re just asking for the right treatment.

“The ideal thing would have been for the government to come to the table with a solution. We’re asking for just a couple of million pound or even half of it, and we’ll raise the rest – we just want to keep the treatment centre open for Veterans to come and stay overnight, even just for respite. If you’re having a bad time, you can come for a couple of days, chill out, speak to veterans to get tips on how to cope.”

Pete said he was happy that so many people had come forward to support the cause.

More than 2,000 people now follow the Support Audley Court Combat Stress Facebook page, far more than its founder ever expected. “I thought it’d ge about 100 people,” Pete said. “They’re not all veterans, they’re supporters and members of the public. They feel something needs to change.”