Armed Forces Hubs in Somerset
Based at Taunton and South Somerset the hubs are open to all members of the Armed Forces community including those serving, their families and veterans.
"A few weeks ago, in Taunton I visited the Arc Veterans Project, which is an incredible, supportive community for former members of the Armed Forces who find themselves homeless and struggling. A man I met there – let’s call him John – years after leaving service, had lost everything through depression and addiction. Now, on the road to recovery and a new life through a combination of therapy and social support. It was almost impossible to know who was NHS, who was voluntary sector. And it didn’t matter. What mattered is that they were all contributing, and they were making a massive difference for John, and for people like him.”
NHS England’s Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard speaking at the NHS Confederation Expo 2024
About the Hubs
The Hubs based at Taunton and South Somerset are open to all members of the Armed Forces community including those serving, their families and veterans. They provide lots of information to help our armed forces community to navigate the system and find the services and support they need.
In Somerset we have a very large Armed Forces community. This includes serving personnel at two military bases, and their families, as well as a large veteran population and reservists. A conservative estimate is that 9% of the Somerset population is part of the Armed Forces community. And 1 in 20 of our population are veterans (compared to 1 in 25 nationally).
There are two hubs one is at Arc at Taunton where the military homeless service is based and the other is in a rural setting at Ark at Egwood.
NHS Somerset have funded two link workers one of whom will be based at Arc at Taunton and the other at Ark at Egwood.
Our hubs provide advice and support tailored to what the individual may need. So, for example, this could be help if they are experiencing homelessness, need help with their mental health, helping accessing funding through military charities or with managing chronic pain etc.
Military personnel, their families, veterans or reservists can self-refer into the service or be referred in by their GP, local village agent or health coach.
How to access the service
There are two ways that you can access support via our Armed Forces hubs.
- Get in touch directly with either Jon at Egwood – jon@arkategwood.com Tel: 07759 005067 or Samantha at Taunton – armedforces@arcinspire.co.uk Tel: 07376 090383
- Contact your GP, health coach or village agent
NEW! Yeovil and Bridgwater Armed Forces Outreach Service
A new Armed Forces Outreach Services is available in Bridgwater and Yeovil for veterans, serving members, family members, dependents or reservists.
Come and have a brew and banter and meet Somerset NHS Armed Forces Link Workers, Jon and Samantha, as well as representatives from many other agencies.
