New centre brings help to veterans

Published on Friday 23 October 2009 10:13

AS Jem and Bob Wright settle into the sofa with a cup of coffee, they could be relaxing in their own living room.

The cosy ambience, the bright scatter cushions, and the portrait of their son Mark on the wall suggest a happy family home.

In fact it is the heart of the Mark Wright Project Centre, set up by the couple in memory of their son, who died in a minefield in Afghanistan in 2006.

They hope that when the day centre opens next month it will provide a welcoming home from home where military veterans can find counselling, comfort, or just good company.

There are a plethora of state and charitable organisations offering support for veterans, but the Wrights say those suffering with depression, anxiety, or full-blown post traumatic stress disorder are often reluctant to ask for help through official channels. They hope to offer a place of friendship and trust where people can find the support they need without stigma.

Paratrooper Corporal Wright died after entering a minefield in Helmand Province to help an injured comrade, and was posthumously awarded the George Cross.

The centre created in his name is unassuming from the outside, occupying a unit on the Hardengreen Business Park in Dalkeith, but inside it is different story. The lounge boasts a vast flat-screen TV, a well-stocked bookshelf, computer, and four comfortable sofas donated by Ikea. Display cabinets bear empty shell cases, and a giant frieze of poppies decorates the wall. As well as a kitchen, office and meeting room, there is a gym equipped with good-quality cast-offs from 4 Para, and two treatment rooms where visitors can sit in privacy with counsellors.

With Mark's portrait looking out over the lounge, his parents are determined that his caring spirit will live on at the centre.

Over the past year, with their supporters, they have raised 40,000 to open the centre.

Jem, 58, says: "I don't think we ever thought we'd get here. We never envisioned anything like this, we just thought it'd be a room. Mark would be really, really proud. He went in to help somebody and we hope we're following through and following that dream of helping people."

Bob, 63, adds: "Mark was a caring guy and it's fitting for him to be still helping the lads. He was helping them in a minefield, and he's helping them here."

It's a trait Mark obviously inherited from his mother and father, and their warm, parental care is the driving force behind the centre.

Bob says: "There's a kind of a stigma to the likes of this and I don't know if the guys would go for help willingly if it was more official. Here they can do what they want and relax. They can sit here all day and just watch TV or read a book if they want."

Volunteers will keep the kettle hot and always be there for a chat – more than 50 have already come forward.

Qualified therapists will offer treatment on a regular or drop-in basis, such as Andy Lorimer, 45, a veteran of 18 years' military service and himself a PTSD survivor.

He agrees that, despite their self-effacing nature, the Wrights, who live just five minutes away from the Centre, are key to the project: "It feels more like a family-run centre because Bob and Jem are so passionate about it. This is the only centre of its type in the UK. It's a superb centre that offers all types of care and therapy."

Four veterans are already receiving counselling, including Chris Savage, 39, of Bonnyrigg. He has suffered debilitating flashbacks since serving in the Gulf and in Bosnia. Despairing, he sought refuge in alcohol, eventually losing his wife, his daughter, his home and his business.

Now getting his life back on track, and about to remarry, and appeared in Battle Scarred, an episode of Dispatches highlighting the gap in provision for veterans with mental health problems. He feels the Mark Wright Project has a uniquely down-to-earth approach.

"It's not before time. There are other charities out there, but they're missing the point. It's ground-level things that guys need, there's going to be a massive tsunami of mental health issues, and there's nothing out there.

"The NHS don't know what they're doing, and there are lots of charities for veterans, but – no disrespect to these agencies – when I contacted them they weren't with the 21st century, a lot of them are still tuned to veterans from the Second World War."

As well as receiving counselling at the Centre, Chris plans to volunteer.

He says: "This place is oozing with positivity, it's absolutely fantastic. These guys have got their finger on the pulse. It's a modern charity and modern organisation that's attuned to the needs of the 21st century soldier."

The organisation plans to work closely with the other charities including Erskine, which recently made its own tribute to Corporal Wright. It has named its new residential home for veterans with physical injuries – the UK's First Army Recovery Centre – Mark Wright House.

Director of the Project Centre, Nancy Campbell, said the team hoped to complement the work carried out by Erskine: "You can come in here, meet up, build up a relationship with them and help them access all those different services out there."

The grand opening is planned for 21 November, but this is just the beginning of the fundraising effort. The centre needs around 60,000 a year in running costs, all to be raised by donation.

They received no bereavement counselling in the wake of Mark's death, and pouring their energies into the creation of the centre has been one way of coping.

Bob says: Hopefully we'll be able to help other people. It's happened to us so we know what it's all about."

BRAVE MARK DIED TRYING TO SAVE INJURED COLLEAGUE

CORPORAL Mark Wright, of the Parachute Regiment's 3rd Battalion, died in Helmand Province on 6 September 2006.

When one of his comrades was injured by a mine, Cpl Wright realised he would not survive long enough for a full mine clearance to take place, and led his men into the minefield.

He also called for a helicopter to evacuate the casualty, but knowing that any helicopter which came too close to the ground could trigger mine explosions, he requested one with a rescue winch. None were available though and a Chinook helicopter arrived. The Chinook's fierce downdraft blew a mine into the air, which struck Mark in the chest. He died three hours later.

It was initially reported that Mark had stepped on a mine, but the truth came out at the inquest, where Coroner Andrew Walker blamed his death on lack of equipment and said the MoD should "hang their heads in shame".