Who are H4H?

H4H was founded by Bryn and Emma Parry after a visit to the hospital at Selly Oak. It is a charity (Reg no 1120920) which provides direct, practical support, primarily to those wounded in current conflicts. It launched on 1 Oct 2007.

Why was H4H formed?

We don’t care about the rights and wrongs of war but we believe that if young men and women are prepared to volunteer to serve our country on our behalf, and are hurt while doing so, they deserve our support. We want that support to be the best and to be there for life.

What does H4H do?

We raise funds and give grants to;

Build capital projects like the £8.5m Rehabilitation Complex at Headley Court, the H4H wing at Combat Stress, the £1 million enhancement of facilities at Blind Veterans UK, Llandudno or the Recovery Centres at Tidworth , Catterick , Colchester and Plymouth.

Help individuals. Where there is need, we provide immediate support to serving, veterans and their families through our Quick Reaction and our Individual Recovery Programme funds. As at August 2012, Help for Heroes has awarded £4.2m to these funds, helping 2,226 individuals.

Support Battle Back. We are Founder Patrons and supporters of the MOD Adaptive Sport and Adventurous Training programme, Battle Back which enables our wounded to ‘feel the wind in the face and the sun on the back’. We also support veterans through our Battle Back Phoenix initiative at the Recovery Centres.

Provide grants to other delivery charities. We give grants to other charities to allow them to deliver services and support.

Stay in touch. Our Band of Brothers and Band of Sisters fellowships allow us to support the wounded, injured and sick and their nearest and dearest. Current membership (August 2012) of the Band of Brothers stands at 1360 and the Band of Sisters at 720 and these figures are growing daily.

Who do we support?

Our Charitable Objects allow us to support;

Serving members of the Armed Forces, both regular and reservists and their families.

Veterans and their families.

Those under command of the Armed Forces (e.g. journalists or others who are injured while embedded or under command, (i.e. Merchant Navy etc) on a case by case basis.

The urgent need is to support the wounded, injured and sick and their families. As our resources are limited, we have chosen to focus our support on those categories above that have had their lives changed by their service during the current conflicts. This is not exclusive and much of our support (ie to Combat Stress or Blind Veterans UK) also benefits those affected in earlier conflicts. We will always strive to help anyone affected by conflict, within our charitable objects, linking to other Service charities where appropriate. If in doubt, contact us and we will do all we can to help.

So how do individuals get help?

Serving personnel normally go though their chain of command but if you feel you are not getting anywhere or have left the services then just give us a call on 01980 846459 or send an email to info@helpforheroes.org.uk. We will always do our very best to help; that’s why we set up H4H.

Does H4H work with other service charities?

Yes, we don’t want to replicate what already exists. We work in partnership with all the key Service charities and in many cases, assist them with substantial grants. For example, we provided a £3.5m grant to Combat Stress, who provide specialist care to Veterans suffering from psychological wounds. The grant paid for the much needed expansion, modernisation and reorganisation of their specialist treatment centre, Tyrwhitt House in Surrey. We have also committed a further £3m for ongoing support.

Has H4H taken funding away from other charities?

No, the evidence is that our focus on the wounded has helped increase the income of all Service charities and has helped raise the awareness of the Armed Forces. The Charity Commission said this about our relationship with other charities: "You have certainly changed the Armed Forces charities landscape. There is no doubt in my mind that H4H has drawn in new money which would otherwise not have been available to benefit the Armed Forces Community"

Is H4H doing the Government’s work for them?

No, we want the best for our ‘blokes’, the men and women affected by their service. The government must and does provide the necessities. We enhance them by giving them the extras, the so-called ‘nice to haves’. So, for example, in 2007, the wounded from Headley Court were able to swim in the Leatherhead public pool (the necessity), we wanted them to have their own facility, the H4H Rehabilitation Complex (the very ‘nice to have’). We will always work hard to ensure that they get the very best, but equally we will work hard to ensure that the Government does what it should.

Does H4H supply prosthetic limbs?

No, the Government should do this. In 2010, we became aware that while the prosthetic service provided by the MOD at Headley Court was world class, some veterans were not getting the best support. Together with the Service charity BLESMA , we went to see the Minister of Health and, following the Murrison report, the NHS is now addressing this. We do reserve the right to pay for special cases and have done so in a few instances, but we have hundreds needing prosthetic limbs and the Government has a responsibility to fund them for life.

Are we building facilities that are too good for our blokes?

If you have been injured while serving we believe you deserve the best and we intend to deliver that. We want to provide the best accommodation, the best opportunities, the best food, and the best new start in life.

Our Recovery Centres are impressive; Tedworth House is a restored stately home and the new build, Jimi’s Wing, has to be in keeping with that. Tedworth House was going to be boarded up by the MOD in 2012. The house came with chandeliers as part of the £1 we pay in annual rent. We didn’t pay for them, nor did we pay for the beautiful setting, but they do add up to a great feeling that ‘the blokes’ are appreciated and that helps them recover faster.

We think that is how it should be – and judging by the comments of those who’ve spent time at Tedworth House, they and their families appreciate it too.

Does H4H have posh offices?

We are based on a business park in Downton, south of Salisbury in Wiltshire. It’s very businesslike, efficient and good value but it’s certainly not posh. Our other office is the Tin Hut, in Tidworth, which costs us £1 a year and is where the volunteers help answer the phones, reply to emails, top and tail thank you letters and give visitors a friendly welcome.

We are in this to support the wounded and while our staff get paid and have to work from offices, 98% of our costs are covered by the H4H Trading Company. This means that as much of your hard earned donations as possible goes to the cause, not towards salaries. We are also very fortunate to have many thousands of volunteers, without whom we could not do our job. They work incredibly hard out in the counties – often holding down a day job too. They are simply invaluable. We believe that makes us the most efficient Service charity and we are doing the best we can to improve on that.

What can you do to help us do our job better?

This is simple, just get in touch and find out for yourself. Contact us and help us improve what we do. We are passionate about this, most of us have links to the Services; some have partners, friends or relatives who’ve been injured or have lost a loved one. We understand this and are trying to do our best. We want to improve and would hate to feel that there might be people out there who need our help but don’t know what to do next…. so, call us on 01980 846459 please!