Milroy, CEO of Veterans Aid, jointly with the University of Georgia’s Professor Jay Mancini, presented on Turning Things Around among Homeless Veterans at the 23rd Congress of the International Academy of Law and Mental Health (IALMH) in Amsterdam.
Veterans Aid enjoys considerable success in this area and the two men made the charity’s four-element model central to their presentation. They talked about the linear process of gateway intervention, unpacking, sorting out and graduation.
Milroy and Mancini, who have collaborated on a number of military and veteran social projects, described in detail the specific practices and processes involved; specifically swift intervention, re-learning of life skills, building of trust, transitioning to new environments and developing new ways of viewing everyday life.
The IALMH Congress is underpinned by the belief that the issues arising from the interaction between law and mental health are best solved using multidisciplinary approaches applied on a national level and inspired by the law, the health professions, social sciences and humanities.
It takes place every two years to bring together an international community of respected researchers, academics, practitioners and professionals whose perspectives contribute to the main issues of law and mental health
Dr Milroy said, “This congress offered an opportunity to talk about the work of VA in front of a very informed and interested audience. It was also a terrific learning experience with some thought provoking interactions.
“In particular, our approach, which encourages clients to let go of the past to help minimise dependency on graduation, seemed to be of interest to the group. There was a feeling, in line with our thoughts, that constantly defining people by a job or context from their past can be very harmful and indeed, inhibiting, by preventing them from moving forward in the normal life-course.”
Professor Mancini added, “Antecedents to homelessness are complex but even more complex are the processes that move homeless individuals and families from social exclusion to social inclusion. Our research data support the significance of social relationships as core to these processes, and the primary role professionals and their organizations have in accessing social relationships as part of intervention. This Congress has given Dr Milroy and me the opportunity to discuss the relevant research and, most significantly, to describe the Veterans Aid pathway that minimizes vulnerabilities and maximises resilience.”
In 2011, with Milroy at the helm, Veterans Aid won the prestigious Institute for Turnaround award, widely considered to be Europe’s highest accolade for organisations moving from difficulty to transformation. The charity’s groundbreaking work among veterans in crisis has seen it referenced by practitioners, politicians and academics worldwide.
Pictured from left: ProfessorJay Mancini and Dr Hugh Milroy. Hugh Milroy PhD is CEO of Veterans Aid and a Senior Visiting Fellow in the Department of War Studies at King’s College. Jay A Mancini PhD is Haltiwanger Distinguished Professor of Human Development and Family Science at The University of Georgia, USA.
