
I was introduced to SWV in 2017 through a fellow Veteran. Little did I know how much this incredible organisation would change my life. Initially I was involved in the Ski week in Kloster, Switzerland. The week really was amazing, I met people on that trip whom I am still friends with to this day.
The real change happened in the weeks and months after Switzerland. I was given a mentor as soon as I got back to the UK. We would liaise weekly via Facetime and we would formulate plans regarding all aspects of my life, from employment and training to issues with relationships and in particular with my children, as I was going through a divorce at that time.
The ongoing support from my mentor and SWV was pivotal in my progress, which had its ups and downs due to my PTSD. That support was totally different to anything that I had previously experienced. I had tried many different methods of therapy including CBT and EMDR. I was also admitted to Combat Stress of several occasions receiving intensive therapy. These were all successful for a time, but the real change came when SWV funded a course of EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) with a therapist near to my home in Lancashire. This treatment had a significant and positive impact on my life. This is something that I still practise to this day, and I cannot thank SWV enough for introducing me to this method, but more importantly, for funding the sessions for me.
I truly believe that all of this combined has given me the confidence to be able to function in my daily life over recent years. I think that this has been evident when SWV have chosen me to be a Lead Veteran on the Sailing Challenge over the past 2 years, which I have enjoyed immensely. I was also honoured to be a VetRep during the 2024 Ski week in Kloster. Experiencing the other side of the operation and seeing all the hard work that goes into providing a successful week for the Veterans was an eye opener. But the real reward was seeing how much people get out of the week, seeing the progress and the friendships developing in such a short space of time was very humbling.
I really cannot thank everyone involved with SWV enough for helping me to get to where I am today. To take somebody so broken and lost and help me turn my life around so much so that I have the confidence and pride to stand up in a room of 100 plus people shows that this really is a very special charity, I genuinely owe everyone at SWV my life. Thank you to Gilly, Zizi, Rikki, and in particular my mentor John MacKinnon