Anniversary for veterans' centre
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POPPYSCOTLAND’s drop-in centre in Inverness has celebrated its fifth anniversary.
The charity, which helps ex-service personnel and their families, has dealt with over 3000 enquiries since opening the doors to its Strothers Lane premises in 2013.
It has also taken on around 400 separate welfare cases.
The centre’s manager Nina Semple said: "Given the thousands of people that have come through our door since 2013, it is clear that Poppyscotland’s Inverness welfare centre has become an integral part of the area in terms of the help we are giving to members of the Armed Forces community every day.
"With support from expert staff, they can develop a better understanding of what has caused the issues and take the steps necessary to ensure that it does not arise again."
Poppyscotland estimates that there are around 100,000 ex-servicemen and women living in the Highlands, and the centre is open to all of them.
The charity’s chief executive, Mark Bibbey, said: "Poppyscotland’s aim in the past five years was to set ourselves up as the heart of the welfare service offering in the north of Scotland.
"None of that would have been possible if not for the welcoming atmosphere that this centre exudes, which is down to the fantastic staff and volunteers."
The centre has been supported by the MacRobert Trust since its opening, and to recognise that fact, Poppyscotland has renamed the facility the MacRobert Centre.
The trust’s chief executive, Rear Admiral Chris Hockley, said: "The MacRobert Trust is delighted to have supported the Inverness Centre since its inception and we are particularly pleased about the renaming.
"This enforces our determination to work alongside Poppyscotland to make a real difference to those in our Armed Forces community.
"I can only say that I am in awe of what has been achieved here in the past five years."
