Specialist cafe supporting veterans to open in Congleton

A charity supporting military veterans is to open a cafe in Cheshire.

The Listening Out Loud Foundation said the aim was to support people who had left the armed forces or who were nearing the end of their careers.

The cafe, near the Morrisons supermarket in Congleton, will also provide opportunities to learn new skills such as cooking.

The charity was set up in the town in 2012 to support veterans affected by homelessness and mental health issues.

Since then, it said it had helped almost 100 veterans find accommodation.

"The aim is to engage veterans and share experiences since leaving the services," said Andrew Dolman-Bayley, from the foundation.

"We also want serving [personnel] to attend where possible, especially those that are getting to the end of their service and they can start learning from our struggles from when we've left."

It comes after a report from the Ministry of Defence last year found that one in eight armed forces personnel received professional mental healthcare support in 2021 to 2022.

Meanwhile Combat Stress, a nationwide charity supporting veterans' mental health, receives about 15,000 calls to its helpline each year and gets about 2,000 referrals.

"We want to create wellness," Mr Dolman-Bayley said, however he added their work would not just be limited to mental health but also adjusting to civilian life.

"Healthy eating, people who want to learn new skills, new trades, those that want to learn how to cook - we can teach things like that as well."

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]