A HAWICK-BASED charity, which aims to support armed forces and blue-light services veterans, is set to receive a sizeable donation from the National Lottery.

The £10,000 windfall will help the FirstLight Trust provide services such as therapeutic support and model making sessions, helping the veterans to adjust to their civilian lives.

The National Lottery Community fund money will allow the FirstLight Trust to develop a three-month pilot programme supporting veterans, holistically, who have experienced traumatic events.

This programme will feature activities and holistic therapies designed to cover all areas of support for veterans.

Some aspects of the pilot are already in place, including model making and archery sessions.

FirstLight Trust support, as well as the model making sessions (Wednesday afternoons), can be accessed at the charity's café/Hub based in Hawick. The archery lessons are currently held in Selkirk on a Friday afternoon.

Dorinda Wolfe Murray, founder of FirstLight Trust, said: "We are over the moon about this funding, as it means that we can really start to create support and activity pathways for the veterans who access FirstLight Trust in Hawick and wider afield.

“We know how important activities are in helping make friends, reduce isolation and increase mental and physical well-being.”

Alongside its current activities, the charity also gives veterans alcohol education, health and nutrition advice and money management courses, these are added to a tailored plan for each veteran to help them feel empowered to lead a fulfilled life.

Therapeutic services for those living with PTSD or other mental health conditions will be provided with support from a chartered psychologist. The services available including eye movement desensitisation, reprocessing clinics and coping strategy sessions.

Ms Wolfe Murray added: “The programme will run initially for three months and on completion project results will be evaluated and based on these results we hope to secure funding to implement a long-term plan.

“Any veterans living in the Borders with PTSD or other mental health conditions who feel they might benefit from our activities or therapy sessions are welcome to pop in to the hub and speak to one of our colleagues or contact our support worker who will be happy to provide all of the information about what support is available.”

The FirstLight Trust can be contacted at hawick@firstlighttrust.co.uk or can be called on 01450 218 647.

For more information about the charity and its services, visit www.firstlighttrust.co.uk