In 2021 we achieved our main goal of positive ‘move-ons’ to a good civilian life for many of our veterans and Service leavers at Entrain Space. ‘Entraining’ takes place for up to 3 years with us, and involves having your own self-contained flat, focused enterprise and personal development training, and overcoming personal barriers such as debts and mental health challenges.
Having a home and welfare support plus enterprise training is a powerful combination, but challenges still remain. Since opening just before the first pandemic lockdown, we have learned a lot about the journey Service leavers experience, and we are much clearer now about what extra help is needed to avoid the pitfalls that they face.
Key developments in 2021
We took on a new member of staff last year, Damon Saddler, who is our Personal Development Manager. Damon has a background in skills, training, careers and business start-up help, and this provides an invaluable skill-set for our residents to engage with. Damon also delivers our new partnership-working model with other organisations, such as the NHS, the DWP and military charities. These partnerships bring additional key services and support on-site at Entrain Space and are integrated within our personal development approach.
We also built great new relationships with serving members of the military last year and we now look forward to mobilising ideas with them.
Looking forward to 2022
The key areas we want to focus on tackling for Entrain Space residents this year are:
- More resources to help those in paid work maintain employment while still receiving the support they need with any remaining issues.
- Setting up our social enterprises to provide sheltered employment and training opportunities.
- Providing more resources to support self-employment, which can offer unique opportunities for self-reliance and accommodate individual goals, needs and constraints.
We also aim to get planning permission this year to start developing our adjacent site. We want to build enterprise units for both veterans and the wider community plus some veterans’ move-on accommodation, a neighbourhood shop, and learning space for a partnership with Wiltshire College.
We would like to express our thanks to everybody who has supported us in 2021 as we look forward to progressing our vision of ‘enterprise-led welfare delivery’ for residents in 2022.
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