PTSD talk on the menu at meeting of Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club in March

The gritty topic of PTSD was the subject of a talk at the first Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club meeting of 2024.

Over 70 people attended the event at Cassanos in High Street March.

Jeff Walters, one of the founding members, was pleased with the turn-out and said the speaker, Kim Thomas, who was from the support group PTSD Resolution, was very informative.

He explained a number of those who attend the regular monthly breakfasts suffer from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and the aim of Saturday’s talk was to help guide them towards seeking help.

Jeff said one of those who has the disorder stood up during the meeting to praise the help they had received from PTSD Resolution.

He said: “I know we have members who suffer from PTSD and we wanted to show them they do not have to suffer in silence, that there is help out there and PTSD Resolution is among the best at helping people.”

The organisation promises to provide help with two to three weeks of a person being referred or asking for help.

Saturday’s event saw those attending tuck into a full English breakfast cooked by Cassanos’ staff led by owner Kevin McCourt.

Jeff said: “Cassanos do us proud, they offer us a lot of support and we are really grateful to Kevin and his team.”

The Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club meets on the first Saturday of every month at Cassanos from 9.30am.

Jeff also runs a weekly drop-in at the venue from 10am to 4pm. It is open to all armed services personnel, both serving and retired, as well as their families. A hot drink is on offer alongside support and a chat.

The breakfast club started nearly five years ago and has more than doubled in size since then