Charity Skydive in aid of The Ambulance Staff Charity (TASC)
The Ambulance Staff Charity (TASC) is the leading UK charity working to support current and retired Ambulance Services personnel and their families, regardless of role, to enhance their mental and physical well-being during times of need. Established in 2015, TASC was formed through the merging of benevolent funds across the UK including the Ambulance Services Benevolent Fund, to create a national charity for the benefit of all present and former staff working in NHS and independent sector ambulance services.
What the charity does:
TASC works in partnership to offer relevant and appropriate advice and support for serving and former Ambulance Services personnel living with disabilities or injuries, and help with more regular support when ill health, injury, stress or lack of income causes real hardship or difficulty, helping people transition out of their situations quickly. Since the charity's inception, they have seen a five-fold increase in the number of people seeking their support; this upward trend is set to continue as they further raise their profile amongst the Ambulance Community.
Support is accessed through a confidential helpline at the charity's Head Office in Coventry where beneficiaries can discuss their individual circumstances with their highly experienced team, including qualified counsellors, who identify the right support to meet their needs. The charity offers timely, tailored, often multi-stranded, support to individuals and families, helping them to improve their circumstances. Increasingly, people are turning to the charity for help with multiple and complex needs; in 2018 the average number of hours of support they gave to each beneficiary was 9.8 hours.
The charity offers a comprehensive package of support including:
• Physical rehabilitation for ambulance staff injured in the line of duty;
• Counselling – residential psychological well-being support;
• Mental Health support - psychological support for ambulance staff struggling with stress related illness or struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD);
• Bereavement support;
• Welfare support/Debt Advice and financial grants.
The charity's Ambulance Staff represent the very best of them. Everyone knows someone who owes their life to 999 call handlers and paramedic crews. However, the distressing and traumatic scenes that Ambulance workers face on a daily basis working on the front line, are imposing serious strains on the mental health and well-being of staff and whilst their Ambulance Services do all they can to support their staff, the sheer scale of the problem means more help is urgently required.
At TASC, they provide a vital lifeline to ensure the health and well-being of both serving and retired ambulance service staff during times of crisis or urgent need. This is achieved through the provision of confidential, impartial advice and access to a range of support services, including counselling and physical rehabilitation. In order to keep pace with the growing demand on their services, particularly around mental health, they need your help.
To book a charity skydive in aid of The Ambulance Staff Charity (TASC), go to our Booking Page.