This page will be updated with upcoming events and media coverage from the Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families Research. For any inquires, please visit our Contact Us page.
On the first day of Pride Month we launched our report 'Lost and Found: The LGBT+ Veteran Community and the Impacts of the Gay Ban’. This work advances knowledge on the lived experience of LGBT+ veterans by providing an evidence base for the development of effective service provision to enhance and improve the health and well-being of LGBT+ veterans. In addition to recognising the harm and cumulative vulnerability, brought about by discriminatory practice and abuse, there is a need to recognise the risk of life-limiting social isolation and loneliness.
Thank you to all the veterans who took part in this research!
Read the full research report here
Press Coverage: Northumbria Press Release, The Times, Sounddelivery Media, Forces News, Global Radio – LBC coverage, BBC Newsnight, ITV Tyne Tees, Sky News
Dr Gill McGill and Dr Alison Osborne were invited to attend a Westminster roundtable event by Help for Heroes and Fighting with Pride.
Senior Research Assistant and PhD student Shannon Allen presented at Durham University’s International Centre for Moral Injuries first conference. Her presentation was a discussion on moral challenges experienced by UK service police veterans.
Read the paper here
Members of our team presented evidence to the House of Lords today on our work with the military bereaved community. A fantastic day, thank you to all involved and especially to our sponsor Baroness Fookes.
Members of the Hub attended the Veterans' Mental Health Conference and Forces in Mind Trust conferences in London. It was an interesting few days filled with fascinating talks.
Dr Amy Johnson and Prof Matt Kiernan presented the findings from our social isolation and loneliness study at the FiMT Conference; the report was just launched two days before. This project, funded by the FiMT, is a three-phase study aimed to map and understand Military Widows’ experiences of social isolation and loneliness, identify available service provisions, and to develop policy recommendations for service provision. You can read the final report here.
Dr Amy Johnson also presented a poster focusing on our findings from the War Widows In Touch evaluation at the Veterans' Mental Health conference. This project examined the self-reported impact of the War Widows In Touch programme on loneliness and social isolation, whilst also exploring the perceived facilitators and barriers. You can read the full report here.
We are pleased to announce the launch of our research report focusing on Military Widows’ experiences of social isolation and loneliness. Funded by the Forces in Mind Trust, this study was completed in collaboration with the War Widows’ Association, Royal Navy and Royal Marines Widows’ Association, Army Widow Association, and the Royal Airforce Widows’ Association.
This project aimed to map and understand levels of Military Widows’ social isolation and loneliness, identify available services available for the social participation of Military Widows, and identify the unmet needs of Military Widows regarding social participation, social isolation and loneliness.
The research found that:
Overall, this project provided policy recommendations and guidance for service provision for Military Widows to engage social participation, and to reduce social isolation and loneliness.
Read the research report here
Northumbria Press Release, FiMT Press Release
The team were in Edinburgh facilitating the Scotland co-production event, the fourth in a series of events for our research project on suicide among the Armed Forces and Veteran population.
Thank you to all who attended and contributed to the research!
Another successful co-production event, hosted in Sutherland Building, Northumbria University for the PTSD and Loneliness study, The event focused on holistic interventions targeting loneliness and social isolation within the veteran PTSD diagnosed community.
Dr Gill McGill and Dr Alison Osborne attended Fighting With Pride’s Scotland conference and launch of the Pride in Veterans Standard in Stirling. They were invited to present their research on the experiences of LGBT+ Veterans who served during the ban.
In partnership with Fighting With Pride, we held the UK’s first annual conference on research with LGBT+ veterans on the 23rd anniversary of the lifting of the ban. The aim of the conference was to bring together academics, the health and social care sector, local government, charities, and LGBT+ community and veterans to focus on the past, present day and future of LGBT+ veterans and their experiences during and after military service. Among the speakers at the event was The Rt Hon. The Lord Etherton PC, Kt, KC, Chair of the LGBT Veterans Independent Review and Kate Davies CBE, National Director of Health & Justice, Armed Forces and Sexual Assault Services Commissioning, NHS England.
As part of the War Widows In Touch evaluation project, we have released four short videos:
Video 1 - Research Aims
Video 2 - Benefits of having an iPad
Video 3 - Impact of COVID-19 on WW.it evaluation study
Video 4 - Impact of digital exclusion
Read the research report here
In partnership with Fighting With Pride, we are hosting the first annual conference on research with UK LGBT+ Veterans on the 12th January 2023 at Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne.
If you are interested in presenting at this conference, submit an abstract for an oral or poster presentation! Find out more information here.
Knock On The Door pilot play examined the experience of war widows & family bereavement in military communities, exploring family dynamics, loneliness, widow identity, story telling and relationships with the military and media. Presented by Shell Shock Media CIC, the pilot event and panel took place at the Victory Service Club in London with the Northern Hub, War Widows Association, SSAFA, and Cruse Bereavement Support.
For more information on the material the Northern Hub provided for the play, access the Knock on the Door Project report here.
In partnership with Fighting With Pride, we are hosting the first annual conference on research with UK LGBT+ Veterans on the 12th January 2023 at Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne.
The call for abstracts is now open and details on how to register for the conference will be made available shortly. Visit the webpage and our social media pages for information and updates!
Join us for a pilot event and panel of Knock On The Door presented by Shell Shock Media CIC with the War Widows Association, SSAFA, and Cruse Bereavement Support. The event is taking place on 11 October 2022, 1pm at the Victory Services Club, London. Register here.
Paul and Alison joined Støt Soldater & Pårørende (SSOP) in
Svendborg, Denmark for their summer camp.
This marked the start of year 3 data collection for our 4-year research project looking at the impact of psychosocial support provided by on the emotional health and well-being of military children and young people in Denmark.
Additional reading - SSOP Annual Camp 2019 Narrative Evaluation: Acritical investigation of the impact of a military veteran parent with mentalhealth issues or PTSD upon childhood biography.
We carried out our second co-production event for our
project ‘Suicide among the Armed Forces and Veteran Population:
Understand-Identify-Prevent’ funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund
Trust. This is part of a series of workshops
we are holding around the UK, with the aim to develop a model of suicide
prevention in Armed Forces community.
Held at Blind Veterans UK Llandudno Centre in Wales, the day was again attended by bereaved families and key stakeholders in the region (i.e., Government, Local Authority, NHS and Third Sector).
Thank you to all who came, with special thanks to Blind Veterans UK Llandudno Centre for hosting us!
Keep up to date with news and events on this page and on our social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.
In addition to Twitter and Facebook, we are now on Instagram! Follow us to stay up to date on all our research projects @NorthernHub_NU.
Our co-production workshop, focusing on Military Widows’ Experiences of Social Isolation and Loneliness, was a big success!
Held at Northumbria University London Campus, the workshop provided an opportunity to develop policy recommendations and guidance for service provision with key stakeholders from across the sector. With a focus on reducing social isolation and loneliness for military widows, the aim of the day was to influence organisation practices; inform policy; to raise understanding of issues in the military widowed population; and to build an inter-disciplinary cohort of organisations that can work together in the future on these issues.
This event is part of a wider research project, funded by the Forces In Mind Trust, and in collaboration with the War Widows’ Association, exploring the experience of social isolation and loneliness of military widows.
Research Project Team - Dr Gemma Wilson-Menzfeld, Dr Amy Johnson, Mary Moreland, Dr Tracy Collins, Prof. Matt Kiernan, Gill McGill
Project Twitter Page - @LresearchSi #militarywidowsSIL
We carried out our first co-production event for our project ‘Suicide among the Armed Forces and Veteran Population: Understand-Identify-Prevent’ funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust. This event is one in a series of workshops we are holding around the UK, with the aim to develop a model of suicide prevention in Armed Forces community.
Held in the Great Hall, Sutherland Building at Northumbria University, the day was attended by bereaved families and key stakeholders in the region (i.e., Government, Local Authority, NHS and Third Sector). Our next co-production event will be in South Wales.
We are pleased to share the full report from the War Widows InTouch Project, in partnership with the War Widows’ Association, and funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.
Aiming to connect members of the War Widows’ Association across the UK through digital technology, this project explored the experiences of the War Widows InTouch Project programme. Benefits including improved access to technology and internet connectivity through iPad provision and improved digital skills using a personalised remote learning approach.
Read the report here.
Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal visited the Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families Research, to hear about the quality and impact of our research helping to transform services and support for the UK Armed Forces community.
The Princess Royal met with the team to discuss our innovative, collaborative research to better understand the needs of the Armed Forces Community and to help inform and shape policy change to improve services and support. Before departing The Princess Royal unveiled a plaque to commemorate the visit.
“It is a real privilege for us to share the hub’s translational research to improve the health and social well-being of the veteran community with The Princess Royal. Our work is driven by the needs of veterans and their families - integration into the community that we work with and for is at the heart of the hub’s mission. As a multidisciplinary team of academics and experts by experience, we strive to attract and facilitate collaboration across the Armed Forces sector and work as a collective force for impact and change across emotionally challenging matters. It is an honour for the hub’s hard work to be recognised by Her Royal Highness."
Professor Matt Kiernan, Director of the Northern Hub
Northumbria University Press Release
HRH The Princess Royal meeting our Co-Director Gill McGill with Director Prof. Matthew Kiernan.
The full report from the Knock on the Door Project, funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust is now available.
This report is about the experiences of bereaved military families in the UK and the impact of their loss. The aim of the study was to explore and understand the impact that death, whilst in military service, has on the surviving family. Specifically, it focused on how casualty notification was undertaken and the impact that the current process had on the long-term well-being of the family. The findings illustrate how notification of the death of a spouse or loved one and subsequent emotional and practical support offered have long-term impacts on family members.
Read the report here.
Northumbria University Press Release
On the 9th of July 2021, the Rethinking Military Spouses: Critical Research Group hosted a webinar titled ‘Bringing the Homefront to the Forefront: UK Perspectives on Critical Research with Military Spouses’. The research group, which includes the Northern Hub's Dr Alison Osborne, published a report outlining information about the event and includes an overview of the main points of discussion: 'Seeking and Gaining Access to Recruit Military Spouses', 'Hearing Military Spouses’ Voices through Qualitative Methodologies', 'Pursuing Impact Agendas: Who, What, Why', 'Balancing Criticality with Military and Academic Expectations'.
Read the full report here.
Read the report summary here.
Back to top
