LJMU explores research and collaboration to support veteran wellbeing
LJMU hosted its first major Armed Forces event since being awarded the Employer Recognition Scheme ‘Gold’ awardfor supporting the Armed Forces Community.
The inaugural Armed Forces and Veteran’s Community Symposium united academe, the uniformed services and charities in exploring future research collaborations which impact on helping people live well after service to their country.
The issues affecting veterans cut across many LJMU research areas including justice and criminology, physical, mental and public health, psychology and, of course, education.
LJMU hosted delegates from Help for Heroes, the Royal British Legion, HM Prison Service, Tom Harrison House, UCLAN, Liverpool City Council and others.
Keynote speaker Professor Matt Fossey of Anglia Ruskin University outlined the myriad opportunities for research, qualitative and quantitative, in a field of interest that is very much in its infancy. “Only ten years ago when I started my group, there was a sole research group at King’s College, so LJMU has a real space to put a flag in the sand,” he said.
Chris Sykes, Assistant Chief Constable of Greater Manchester which has also achieved ‘Gold’ for its approach to arrested veterans and employment of former military personnel, said: “We have built links with the Jewish, Muslim, LGBTQ+ communities but here is a community – of maybe 200,000 - whom we knew nothing until a few years ago.”
He said GMP referrals to mental health support for apprehended veterans has jumped from 38 in 2018 to more than 500 this year.
In a short space of time we’ve built a serious commitment to ex-services personnel. This is both in terms of opening avenues to higher education but also in creating research which improves support for people through service provision, policy change and societal change
Dr Gus Ryrie, LJMU's Armed Forces Champion
The symposium was organised by School of Education PhD researcher John Goulding, whose research explores the educational outcomes of veterans and was the driving force behind the event. It was supported by Faculty of Arts, Professional and Social Studies research and knowledge exchange staff as well as members of the Armed Forces Steering Group. John also presented at the event, sharing insight from his PhD which concludes in April.
LJMU’s support for the Armed Forces community
Since signing the Armed Forces Covenant in 2021, LJMU has appointed its first Armed Forces Champion and formed a cross-university Armed Forces Steering Group, which brings together colleagues across all factions of the university to drive forwards everything from research to HR policy development, all with the aim of better supporting students and staff from the Armed Forces community and creating positive change for the community across the UK.
Find out more about LJMU’s pledge to the Armed Forces community.
Picture: Dr Gus Ryrie, PhD John Goulding and Professor Matt Fossey
