Army veteran who was homeless twice after leaving forces reveals impact on mental health
Written by News on 28/01/2020
Josh Ryder is an army veteran who has found himself homeless twice since leaving the forces.
He served in Iraq and Sierra Leone during the Ebola epidemic.
Mr Ryder now helps run Men Unite and is training as a nursing associate, a new role introduced to bridge a gap between health and care assistants and registered nurses.
He tells Sky News about the impact on his mental health of trying to make ends meet.
I came out of the army 16 months ago after seven years. There was not a lot of support.
About the same time I had a relationship breakdown and that meant I ended up living in my car. I did have a few family members who offered to help but where I was at in my life I wasn’t willing to receive it at the time.
I spent a few weeks in my car until I got housed, and then went through some other difficult times. But I got a job, which has helped massively and I’m working in mental health and I’m completing my training in the same thing.
It can still be a struggle though. I have two children and I’m not with either of their parents and so I have those responsibilities.
You pay it all out, the house, the car, the fuel money and then you’re left with maybe a couple of hundred a month and that doesn’t take into account anything else that might come along as a necessity to pay for.
January is extremely difficult. I ended up without anywhere to stay too.
Thanks to Men Unite, someone was able to sort out somewhere for me to live.
I got housed really quickly on a reasonable budget. It was a huge thing and the quick turnaround was massive.
I spoke to the charity and they had a contact for someone who could facilitate housing. I had a meeting with the head of the charity and he was happy for me to move in.
The contracts are coming in now and that’s really quick.
With my background in the military, you really do shut off your emotions, otherwise you wouldn’t cope but now I understand more that you should talk about it.
I still have my struggles, a lot of people do, but [finances] are a huge thing and put extra pressure on.
(c) Sky News 2020: Army veteran who was homeless twice after leaving forces reveals impact on mental health
