Op FORTITUDE is funded by The Armed Forces Covenant Fund to deliver a centralised referral pathway into veteran specific supported housing. The remit of the team is to work with individual veterans at risk of or experiencing homelessness, supporting them either with advice and guidance to maintain their current home, or into suitable veterans supported housing. The service is designed to help those veterans who do not have a suitable support network already, the network they do have is struggling to support them, or the veteran struggles to engage with local services.

The underlying issue causing the person to be at risk of homelessness could be one or more of a range of issues, including income maximisation, employment, mental or physical health, substance misuse etc.

The Veteran Charity Sector has a rich history of providing support to veterans in these and many other areas and have a vital role to play in preventing veteran homelessness. Op FORTITUDE will also prove to be a critical resource for these agencies and any veterans they are working with who may be homeless, they are struggling to support. Op FORTITUDE works in a ‘community first’ way and is not designed to be the single referral pathway for veterans homelessness, but is an added value ‘as well as’ (not instead of) service that has links across the UK.

The Op FORTITUDE Pathway went live for referrals on 3 July 2023, with an initial focus on tenancy sustainment and high-risk referrals and was fully operation by the date at which the Op FORTITUDE funded supported housing went live on 1 September 2023.

Op FORTITUDE Service Design Overview

Referrals can come from a range of sources, including, but not limited to, the public, the homelessness sector, the veteran charity sector, Local Authorities, His Majesties Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) (although in prison referrals are not taken due to the extensive support from the Offender Officer and local authority), The Defence Transition Service (DTS), or directly from the veteran themselves.

Referrals can be made through a dedicated webpage, and telephone access, with referrals going to the team that will facilitate referrals.

On receipt of the referral, we will assess:

• The immediate safety of the veteran
• Their current housing situation and location
• Location, levels, and complexity of need

From an assessment of need, and led by the veteran’s own choice, if agreed and suitable, we will match the veteran with the appropriate supported housing or engage in tenancy sustainment activities to prevent homelessness occurring.

As mentioned, moving into supported accommodation may not always represent the best outcome, and we will need to consider wider implications, such as the impact of losing a local connection to the area they are currently residing in.

From an assessment of need, and led by the veteran’s own choice, there could be a range of supportive interventions taken, including, but not limited to:

• Tenancy sustainment, where there is suitable and safe accommodation, through Local Authority Homelessness Reduction Act Duties
• Referral to veteran and non-veteran charity sector organisations to provide additional support
• Referral to veteran supported accommodation

Service Hours

The service is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. During office out of hours times:

Monday-Friday 17:00-09:00 & weekends and bank holidays

An out of hours team will deal with all enquires to:

• Give advice and help connect to any local authority homeless services
• Provide advice about the service
• Help with making a referral to the service

All referrals are requested to make contact with their local authority and report homeless. If the veteran struggles with this, the team can/will help support them with this.

Referrals can be made to Op FORTITUDE:

By our online referral form https://riv.org.uk/opfortitude

Or by Freephone 0800 9520774