Established in 2011 by Cornish Fire Fighter, Tim Cocks, Active Plus delivered employment courses to multiple groups. His goal was to have the courses delivered by wounded, injured and sick (WIS) military veterans, themselves unemployed and suffering from ill health. With funding from the National Lottery, Active Plus worked across Cornish communities with people experiencing loneliness and isolation. Through this project, it was demonstrated that the negative effects of loneliness and isolation were also felt within the Veteran community and this exacerbated issues around employment and negative effects on mental health.
Over the next few years, Active Plus’ success of developing WIS veterans to support people in local communities resulted in European and Lottery funding, helping us to target those furthest from employment. Active Plus was one of the smallest organisations nationally to be awarded this funding, and enjoyed one of the highest success rates! By the time the European funding had come to an end, Active Plus had helped thousands of unemployed and lonely people, plus several hundred veterans.
The new opportunities include delivering projects all across Cornwall, helping groups including young people, unemployed individuals, those who are economically inactive, as well as older, lonely and isolated people. All projects are delivered by veterans, many of whom have seen active service and suffer from PTSD or physical injuries.
Nobody learns to be an incredible team player or high performing leader by sitting through Powerpoint presentations or online courses. Leadership, motivation, teamwork and resilience need more than that. That’s why all our courses are designed and delivered by military veterans. They use what they’ve learned in the forces to deliver action-centred team training, so far having helped over 7,000 people. It’s all centred on unlocking and fulfilling the potential that we all have inside us, just waiting to be realised.
Laura Truckle is the new Managing Director of Active Plus. A young and proud Cornish woman, Laura is leading a team of veterans of which 90% have some health issues. She has overseen the demise of European funding and created new opportunities within the county in order for Active Plus to continue its innovative work.