The Veterans Mobility Fund is now open for applications, administered by Help for Heroes, in partnership with Blesma, The Limbless Veterans charity.
Who’s Eligible for the Fund
The Veterans Mobility Fund is eligible to veterans who have acquired injuries whilst serving in the UK military, and need mobility support.
The fund will provide mobility aids that are not usually available on the NHS, such as specialist wheelchairs, mobility scooters, and different orthotics including splints and braces.
“The Veterans’ Mobility Fund provides critical support to our limbless Members injured during service. The provision of specialist mobility support, equipment and medical care is essential to enable our veterans to live independent and fulfilling lives.
It is, therefore, a welcome return of this fund, to continue to support our limbless members throughout their lives, and to assist them to adapt immediately after injury, or as equipment and technology develops and changes the way they live their lives.” – Chief Executive of Blesma, Vivienne Buck CBE.
Veterans' Mobility Fund: Apply Here
Length of the Veterans Mobility Fund
The reinstated Veterans Mobility Fund in March 2024 will run for five years.
There is hope that the fund will become a long-term provision, with support from Members of Parliament, such as Veterans’ Affairs Minister Rt Hon Johnny Mercer MP, a former Royal Artillery captain who served three tours of duty in Afghanistan.
“This is a very important issue for the veterans community that I care deeply about. We now have this money and we’re going to set it on an enduring basis, because the Prime Minister is crystal clear that nobody who’s had an injury should be paying for their mobility needs, and we’re going to achieve that through this pathway.” – Rt Hon Johnny Mercer MP
The Veterans Mobility Fund was originally launched back in 2015 with £3 million from LIBOR banking fines used over the initial five years. However, a funding gap appeared when it closed in 2020.
As a result, a 30,000- strong petition was promptly put together, alongside letters to the Chancellor and relevant Secretaries of State, which underscored the need for more support for injured war veterans. Leading to charities; Blesma and Help for Heroes stepping in to help with the fulfilment of the Veterans Mobility Fund for 2024 and beyond.
Ongoing Charity Support for Injured Veterans
There’s no doubt that the Veterans Mobility Fund will go on to improve the lives of many injured veterans across the UK, such as former Royal Marine and Special Forces soldier Toby Gutteridge, who was seriously injured when he was shot through the neck during a night raid on a compound in Afghanistan in 2009.
“I still want to live a really active life and I probably wouldn’t be able to do that without the correct mobility funding in place. I don’t know what would have happened to the funding had it not been for Blesma and Help for Heroes. I take my hat off to organisations like these because they do so much for veterans.” - Toby Gutteridge, former Royal Marine and Special Forces soldier, now turned author
Are you an injured war veteran looking for support?
Alongside the reinstated Veterans Mobility Fund, if you have served in the British Armed Forces and have suffered a life changing injury, either during or after your service you may be eligible for Blesma Membership.
Blesma works tirelessly to provide practical, emotional and financial support to injured veterans and their families and widows as they rebuild their lives.