One-stop shop offers a range of support

From her office at Chesterfield’s JobCentre Plus where she is a work coach, Elizabeth has taken on additional duties to ensure that the needs of military veterans are met.
There are more than 600 jobcentres in England and each has an Armed Forces Champion whose role is to signpost people to relevant organisations. 
Elizabeth is the only such champion who has set up a one stop shop. She said: “It’s unique because there’s no other one stop shop, face to face contact, under one roof, in the country that does this.  
“I give that personal touch and deal directly with service providers, employers, training, homelessness, mental health etc. because of all the contacts made and relationships made over the years.”
She organises veterans’ hubs four times a year and an annual jobs fair, enabling ex-service personnel to talk to charities, agencies and businesses about debt, drink or drug dependency, rehousing, retraining, employment and other concerns. 
She said: “The first hub I did was about five years ago and 41 veterans turned up. They were able to speak face to face and make eye contact instead of having to go on the internet to find contacts then ringing them up.”
The next veterans hub will be held at Chesterfield Town Hall on October 26 from 10am to midday.

On average Elizabeth sees two new clients a week in Chesterfield in her role as Armed Forces Champion and estimates that she has helped 100 veterans in the past five years.
She said: “Most of them are well qualified, well trained, are intelligent, have communication skills and are reliable. Two of my RAF guys have recently been given jobs as custody officers.”
Elizabeth is urging veterans who may be struggling with health, employment or debt problems to come forward. She said: “The biggest issue is people not coming to me; they are so proud and don’t think that they need help.”
She can be contacted at the JobCentre on Markham Road, Chesterfield. Call 01246 343186 or email: ELIZABETH.GAUNT-MBE@dwp.gsi.gov.uk 

Life is looking up for Leon Cook who has had a difficult few months since being injured in an accident.
He was working as a security consultant in the Middle East when he was a passenger in a vehicle which overturned and the body armour pressed into two discs in his back.
Back in England and on the sick because of his injury, dad of four Leon sank into a downward spiral and ended up in the Hartington unit at Chesterfield Royal Hospital for two weeks in December. Leon said: “I think it was the shock of it all, maybe divorce and getting injured.”
Now back on track, he is an outpatient at the unit where he has monthly appointments and is benefiting from physiotherapy.
Leon, 31, served in the Parachute Regiment before moving to a better paid job. 
During his time in the Middle East, he studied for a Masters degree in security risk management and graduated from Portsmouth University. He said: “I left school with no qualifications so I decided to do this for my boys.” 
Thanks to the support of Elizabeth Gaunt, Leon has completed courses in business and gas engineering and joined forces with his landlord and housemate Liam Starbuck to launch a plumbing company. Leon said: “The plan is to get veterans who are struggling for jobs to work with us.”

Liam said: “We want to thank Elizabeth for helping us to set up the plumbing company. She has gone above and beyond and secured funding to help us make a start.”
He served in the Royal Marines before being attracted by better pay elsewhere. Working in maritime security which involved protecting commercial ships from pirates Somalia and the Indian Ocean enabled Liam, 29, to get on the property ladder and buy a house in Bolsover.
Three years later he retrained as a gas engineer and was working on smart meters up until a month ago when he was made redundant.
Alongside the plumbing business, Liam and Leon plan to sell sportswear with five percent of profits going to mental health.

Guarding the Queen at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and St James Palace or infantry training in Wales and Scotland is an exciting career for a young man.
But life in the Grenadier Guards took its toll on Lee Rigg who is suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) four years after leaving the service.
Lee, 26, said he had “a traumatic and life changing experience in the Army that haunts him still to this day”. He decided not to pursue a full career in the Army as intended.
“On my last day I was de-kitted and marched to the gates with a one-way rail ticket,” he said. “The thing that upset me the most is when they take the Army ID off you - your Army ID becomes part of you as does your regimental number.

“What the Army could do with is realising that they have to help people get back into civvy life. You leave the Army unprepared for the real world - you don’t know about bills or credit scores.”
On leaving the Army, Lee found work building adventure playgrounds and is now a self-employed personal trainer.
He is currently looking after his fiancée, who is recovering from knee surgery, and visited JobCentre Plus to sort out her Statutory Sick Pay. While he was there, he shared his troubles with Elizabeth Gaunt. 
Lee said: “Elizabeth has helped me to make contact with an organisation which will help me deal with PTSD.
“She put me in touch with SSAFA, who have helped me with debts, and with CivvyStreet, who have paid for a full driving course.”
Lee and his partner live in Barlow with his four-year-old son and her two daughters, aged five and nine.

Help is available for those leaving the Armed Forces for civilian life.
Melissa Terry, senior media officer for the Army, said: “The Ministry Of Defence provides a resettlement package for all service personnel that offers a range of services, funds and other support to help make the transition to civilian life as smooth as possible. As part of the resettlement package, service personnel can attend workshops, training courses, civilian work attachments or, simply take some time off to make the necessary arrangements for their new start in civilian life.
“The Armed Services also have a specialist civilian company who we work in partnership with (called the Careers Transition Partnership) to identify opportunities for personnel who are preparing to leave the services. Serving personnel can access this service two years prior to leaving the Armed Forces and for two years afterwards.”

"The Army offers training and development opportunities from the start of an individual's career. This not only prepares them for a successful career while serving in the Army but allows them to develop skills and qualifications which they can utilise when they decide to leave Army service.  
 "The Army offers over 40 different apprenticeship programmes at either Level 2 (equivalent to 5 GCSE passes at A*-C), Level 3 (equivalent to 2 A Level) or Level 4 (equivalent to a foundation degree). There are opportunities to undertake apprenticeships in a variety of trades from engineering and construction, to hospitality, telecommunications and animal care.
"Alongside an Army Apprenticeship soldiers can choose to take up opportunities provided by the Army Skills Offer. The Army Skills Offer is a scheme in which the Army will pay for soldiers and officers to receive free civilian qualifications which have been accredited to their Army training and service."