Cardiff care home honours the fallen with Change Step
RESIDENTS AT a Cardiff care home honoured the fallen at their own Service of Remembrance – with the support of veterans peer mentoring service Change Step
Staff at Hafod’s Woodcroft Care Home, in Trowbridge, decided to host the commemoration after discovering that many of the over-55s they support were veterans or had links to the military.
The 60-bed home fell quiet as residents stood in silence to remember those who fell in conflict.
The service also featured a bugler, standard bearers from the Royal British Legion, hymns and prayers, and a presence from the Royal Welsh based at nearby Maindy Barracks.
‘Amazing and emotional’
Home manager Elaine Mather said the Remembrance events marked the culmination of weeks of activity by Woodcroft residents, including dressing mannequins in period uniform and creating a poppy cascade.
It was an amazing and emotional morning, and we were happy to see over 80 people come including those from Change Step Aged Veterans.
Our residents, some of whom have a connection to the military, really appreciated this. I would like to thank everybody who got involved and came along for their wonderful support.
Change Step works with more than 20 other organisations across Wales to support veterans, their families and carers facing serious stress – and offers dedicated support for older veterans in Cardiff, Conwy and Denbighshire.
The Aged Veterans project has been supported by the Royal British Legion, and includes a drop-in session for older ex-service personnel at the Ely and Caerau Community Hub between 10am and 3pm each Friday.
It has been wonderful to work with the staff at Woodcroft, and to bring the support we can offer older veterans and their families directly into their home in this way.
Since its inception just over five years ago, Change Step has supported more than 2,000 veterans and their families throughout Wales – many facing serious and significant health and mental health challenges related to their service.
Change Step – which generates around £7 in social value for each pound spent – has been repeatedly highlighted as an example of best practice, and has forged a wide range of valuable partnerships with the private, public and third sectors in Wales.
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