This is Mark Foster’s story. Mark, now based in Northumberland, served as a Private in the Army’s Royal Logistic Corp (RLC) between 2008 and 2012. Mark has struggled with homeless, alcohol addiction and (undiagnosed) post-traumatic distress disorder (PTSD) following the death of a close friend in the Afghanistan conflict. He’s now using his experiences to help others and is retraining for a career in mental health support.

Mark is supporting the launch of the new Veterans’ Mental Health High Intensity Service in the North of England. Find out more about this new NHS service at http://bit.ly/NorthEnglandHIS

If you are an armed forces veteran (minimum service of one day) and need mental health support you can speak to your GP or contact the NHS Veterans’ Transition Intervention and Liaison Service (TILS) in the first instance on 0303 123 1145 or email vwals@nhs.net.