This Saturday marks Armed Forces Day, a celebration of the contributions of Armed Forces personnel to our communities and across the country.

Supporting veterans is a cause very close to Southway’s heart. In 2018, we signed Walking with the Wounded’s Armed Forces Covenant, a pledge to actively support Armed Forces personnel and their families to adapt to civilian life.

Since signing the Armed Forces Covenant, we have taken a number of actions to meet our pledge:

  • Guarantee job interviews to veterans

    Any veteran who meets the requirements set out in the job description of any of our vacancies will automatically be invited to interview. We also advertise all of our job opportunities through Walking with the Wounded, to encourage applications from veterans.

  • Have a team of Armed Forces Champions

    This team are available to support veterans in our community to access relevant services and resources.
    They are also available to share information with other staff at Southway, to increase knowledge and understanding across the organisation.

  • Have created new staff training

    Training about the difficulties many veterans face in returning to civilian life, as well as the services that can support them, has been created for our staff to complete.

    We're confident this will help to increase our staff's awareness of how we can support veterans in our communities.

  • Ask tenants if they have served

    At every sign-up and property viewing, we now ask new and prospective tenants if they have served in the Armed Forces. This is so we can identify veterans in our communities and direct them to services that may benefit them.

    We're also looking into new approaches of identifying veterans who are already Southway tenants so we can offer them the same service.

  • Volunteer our time

    We are committed to giving our time to help other organisations supporting Armed Forces personnel. In November, we spent our Community Commitment Day painting and repairing the Walking with the Wounded Hub on Canada Street.

    The following month, our staff took part in Walking Home for Christmas, raising a fantastic £1,935.81 for Walking with the Wounded.

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Southway staff at Walking with the Wounded's Hub on Veterans Street and at Walking Home for Christmas.

Celebrating Armed Forces Day

As with many annual events, Armed Forces Day has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. However, there are still lots of ways to celebrate online! On way to get involved easily with the hashtag #SaluteOurForces – simply post a photo of you and your family saluting to social media with the hashtag to show your support.

Other fun activities all the family can enjoy are:

Scarborough Armed Forces Day Virtual Event – Monday 22nd to Saturday 27th June

Armed Forces Day Virtual Dog Show – Saturday 27th June, 9am – 6pm

Armed Forces Gaming Tournament – Saturday 27th June, 6pm – 11pm

You can also visit the Armed Forces Day website and Facebook page to keep up to date with how you can get involved on the day!