Army

Royal British Legion Open New Drop In Centres

The Royal British Legion has undergone the biggest transformation in its 93 year history resulting in a complete change of how the charity delivers its frontline support services.

After three years of development and restructure the Legion is opening 16 Pop In advice and information centres on high streets in major towns and cities across the UK, which will be supported by a network of hundreds of community outreach hubs. Five of the ‘Pop In’ centres - Birmingham, London, Manchester, Cardiff and Southampton - have been launched today.

No other charity has a presence of this nature on the UK’s high street, where members of the Armed Forces and the general public can ‘pop in’, as easily as going to the shops, for advice and information on the charity’s support and community services.

The driver behind this change came from research conducted in 2005 and 2010 into the demographic and long-term needs of the Armed Forces community. Respondents said it was difficult to find the help they needed, either because of not knowing who to go to and what services were on offer, or because this information was hard to access.

The Legion’s Area Manager for the West Midlands, Jane Britton, said:

“Our beneficiaries sit at the heart of everything we do as a charity, and when they speak we listen. We are proud to announce this huge change which will ensure the Legion is fit for purpose and members of the Armed Forces community can reach help how and when they need it.

“We know the total number of the Armed Forces community is set to decline, yet the demand for Legion support is predicted to increase, as the population ages and our beneficiaries’ needs become more complex, especially amongst those leaving the Forces and those who are wounded, injured or sick.

“We used our research to set a course to modernise the Legion, to meet changing needs and become easier to find – both online and in person – positioning our services closer to where our beneficiaries live. We will be more accessible, quicker to respond and extend our reach in the communities who need us most.

“In the past year in the West Midlands, the team has dealt with 10,000 requests for help and information. More than £840,000 of financial gains have been achieved from our Benefits and Money Advice and over £290,000 through the work of our Independent Living Advisors.

“The Legion should be the first port of call in any circumstances throughout life for Service personnel, veterans and their families.”

The Legion’s research, which is supported by the evidence presented in Lord Ashcroft’s Veterans’ Transition Review, February 2014, has led the Legion to create three easy to use contact points.

These three points are: a comprehensive website, with live web chat, offering information on Legion services and where to go for further support, a Freephone central contact centre open seven days a week from 8am-8pm, and our network of 16 advice and information centres, supported by outreach bases from where we run regular drop in sessions - all in easily accessible locations for face-to-face contact.

Major General Michael Charlton-Weedy CBE DL, Legion County President for North and East Yorkshire commented:

“The Royal British Legion is striving to position itself for the future, not the past. We are absolutely committed to our beneficiaries and the changes we are making to our frontline support are based on socio-economic research of the highest order.

“The nature of the Armed Forces community, and therefore our beneficiaries, has changed greatly since the end of National Service in 1961, with veterans and reservists widely dispersed across the UK in much reduced numbers within communities. The way we reach them and they reach us must reflect that reality. By opening our Pop In centres we are now in a prominent position on the high street, and our improved digital resources also place us on the electronic ‘high street’ that is today’s veterans’ preferred medium. In all cases the Legion is easily accessible for all who may need us.”