Ex-servicemen’s needs to be researched by RBL locally
A STUDY is being carried out to better understand the needs of ex-service personnel in Guernsey.
The project is being done in conjunction with the Guernsey branch of the Royal British Legion.
The current estimate, based on UK figures, is that Guernsey is home to around 2,000 ex-service personnel of various ages and experiences.
Bournemouth University student Ariane Rouget is from Guernsey and is working in conjunction with a clinical psychologist on the island to assess the requirements of resident ex-service personnel.
Guernsey’s Royal British Legion welfare team chairwoman Marlene Place explained what the legion was looking to get from the research.
‘Facts about the needs of ex-service personnel returning to Guernsey or any gaps in our service,’ she said.
The Royal British Legion is the UK’s leading armed forces charity, offering support in various forms to returning members of the armed forces.
Services offered by the Guernsey branch include financial and emotional support and signposting to various other organisations offering assistance.
One of the legion’s most successful initiatives has been its breakfast event for ex-personnel held on the first Saturday of each month at Les Rocquettes Hotel’s Oak Restaurant.
While pleased with its current offerings, the Guernsey branch is keen to keep up with the support systems in the UK and elsewhere which benefit from greater funding and easier access to resources.
In the process of reviewing services, Mrs Place said the Guernsey branch of the legion had been aware for some time that its information on the needs of ex-servicemen was very much anecdotal.
An idea arose for a more in-depth investigation of the issue which Mrs Place then mentioned to a friend of hers who is a clinical psychologist.
Mrs Place’s friend put her in touch with Miss Rouget, a psychology student who was looking for a project to contribute to her summer placement and upcoming final year dissertation.
Miss Rouget said such opportunities in psychological fields can be hard to come by so she could not pass this one up.
‘It will be interesting to see how my knowledge of psychology can help in a real life situation and I am pleased to be back in Guernsey to apply this knowledge in a practical way,’ she said.
It is hoped that the study can reach a sample size of around 30 participants, all of whom will be interviewed to identify any service development and training needs within the legion itself and any gaps in the system relating to on-island housing, employment, health or other issues.
The study will look to take a sample representative of the veteran population and the work may also lead to a more accurate understanding of the number and demographics of veterans on the island.
Miss Rouget said she was looking forward to applying her existing knowledge and developing her skills, all while giving something back to the community in which she grew up.