Army veteran joins Southsea-based All Call Signs as peer support worker

Sarah Jayne-Bazan was medically discharged from the Adjutant General's Corps last year following a struggle after she had surgery on her spine and hips.

The 43-year-old, who had been in the army for 21 years, was unable to pass a promotion course due to her spine problems and lost her ranking.

Sarah said: ‘It was a really tough time. I loved my job and then I lost it. The army was all I had ever known and I felt like I had lost my identity.’

With the help of therapy and medication, the mother-of-three managed to move on and decided to do a course at the University of Portsmouth through the further forces scheme to become a further education teacher but was forced to quit and find a job to help support her family.

In March this year Sarah started as a peer support worker at Southsea-based All Call Signs.

Sarah, who works remotely and lives in Darlington, County Durham, said: ‘I have known SJ, the co-founder of All Call Signs, since he was a baby as we are family friends.

‘He attended my passing out ceremony when he was nine years old. Eight years later I went to his passing out ceremony.

‘He has done amazing things in his career but All Call Signs is such an amazing achievement and to see where it first started to now is outstanding.

‘I had just finished my mental health training course before I started in March, the week before lockdown, so I did get thrown in at the deep end. It was sink or swim but luckily I swam.’

Sarah’s role sees her responding to veterans across the country who get in touch for support, most recently via the new Veterans High Intensity Service (HIS through NHS 111 that was launched by Solent NHS, All Call Signs and Walking with the Wounded last month.

Sarah said: ‘We saw a massive increase in need at the start of lockdown but during the middle months there was a bit of a lull and then another increase when lockdown started lifting.

SEE ALSO: Portsmouth matron shares mental health journey after her whole family gets Covid-19

‘I think the changes caused the issues and in the middle there was a period where people got used to be indoors and not having to worry too much about the outside world.

‘The new intensity service is great. Reaching out and saying you need help is the hardest step and it is unacceptable if people then have to wait a few months after seeing their GP and hear nothing.

‘At All Call Signs and through the new service we make sure we are there for them and guide them for whatever issues they are having. I spoke to one man six weeks ago who was crying down the phone to me in a crisis and I spoke to him today and he has had his flat carpeted, got vouchers for furniture and other help.

‘He said to me that we deserved a big box of chocolates for helping him because we had changed his life. To hear how different he sounded from that first phone call to now was what the charity is about.

‘I really hope the HIS gets rolled out everywhere, including Wales and Scotland, because I don’t think getting dedicated support should be a political postcode lottery.’

The News and JPI Media has launched a mental health campaign, There For Each Other.

Over the next few weeks you will hear from a range of people about their mental health journeys, relating to a number of topics including Covid-19, veterans, suicide, financial stress, grief, domestic abuse and the impact of social media.

Health professionals, organisations and charities will be sharing the range of support that is available and how it can be accessed.

For mental health support across Portsmouth, Fareham, Gosport, Waterlooville, Havant and Hampshire

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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