“IT’S PUTTING THE CARE INTO WELFARE” In the 10 years I’ve been in the Legion I’ve met some wonderful veterans – but also some of the most vulnerable, lonely people who are struggling in their everyday lives. “We offer them the hand of friendship: a place where they can have a cup of tea, a biscuit and a chat, and meet other ex-Service men and women. We have people of all ages, and if they can’t get to us we will pick them up and take them home afterwards. It’s all about human interaction.” This account of one Legion branch and its successful community approach comes from Ann Kadiri, a 76-year-old human dynamo who has set up what she calls the Friendship and Companionship Group to reach out to exService personnel in her area. These veterans may not be Legion members when she first meets them but she believes they desperately need help. Over time, through Ann’s gentle persuasion, and invitations to Rushden Branch events, members of the Friendship group frequently join the Legion and get involved. “I want them to be part of the branch so other members can see how the Legion might be able to help them,” explains Ann. “A lot of them aren’t already members because they find it hard to reach out. After coming to the Friendship Group for a while, you find out they need a grab rail over the bath, or perhaps help filling out a form – things they are too proud to ask for. They don’t want a handout, they want a hand up, and that’s what we give them.”

20

G E O R G I E M AY B E

Ann Kadiri has found an effective way to support veterans – and recruit new members to her branch at the same time. She offers them the hand of friendship...

The monthly get-togethers began in a local café with six veterans in the autumn of 2013, and as word of mouth got around, the group grew. Its 40 members are now based at larger premises: the Rushden Athletic Club. As well as meeting for coffee and a chinwag, the group organises activities, special lunches, trips out and visiting speakers. “The group runs itself now really,” says Ann, who comes from a naval family in Plymouth and enjoyed a long career in the prison service before she retired. “The members, once they start coming, want to help and be involved. For example, there’s a chap who joined 18 months ago after I saw him standing by himself at the Remembrance Parade, with his head bowed. I went over and started chatting, and he told me he was a veteran, in his early eighties, and

Friendship Group members at the 2015 Christmas lunch.

WORKING TO GETHER IN 2016: RUSHDEN BR ANCH

“THEY DON’T WANT A HANDOUT, THEY WANT A HAND UP...”

Above: Ann Kadiri at last year’s special Christmas lunch. Left: Some of the Friendship and Companionship Group enjoying the festivities.

had just lost his wife. You could see the pain in his eyes. He started coming to the Friendship and Companionship Group, found his confidence and is now one of our drivers, picking up others who can’t get to us otherwise. He said to me the other day, ‘Ann, I’m a completely different person to the one you met 18 months ago’ – and he’s right, he is. It’s all about reaching out to people and offering them the hand of friendship.” As well as running the Friendship and Companionship Group, Ann also does around 18 home and hospital visits a month, and has set up a Telephone Buddies network. “I link one or two of our branch members with someone who is less mobile, and they call them every couple of weeks to see how they are. I visit them, do a bit of shopping or sit with someone so their wife or husband can have a break. If anyone has a bigger need than that, I let the Legion know and they investigate to see how they can help.”

Ann’s advice for any branch member inspired to start their own Friendship and Companionship Group is to begin by asking their fellow members if they know of any veterans who could benefit from assistance. Step two is to ask the same question after contacting care homes and local agencies, such as Citizens Advice Bureaux and Age UK. And if it becomes clear that funding may be required, Ann doesn’t hesitate to apply for local grants or simply organise a raffle, and she also asks for donations after talks she gives to clubs such as the Rotary. “It would be fantastic if more branches could reach out to veterans with their own community groups. We get people of all ages, they all have something to contribute – and it’s a gentle way for them to find out what the Legion can do for veterans. It costs the branch nothing, yet it gives people the hand up they want. It’s putting the care back into welfare.”

21