THE Army Welfare Service (AWS) Intake & Assessment Team (IAT) was established to deal with enquiries in the north of England, but it was so successful that it’s now the single point of access for all welfare support referrals in the UK and overseas and, importantly, direct self-referrals can be made by phone from families overseas.
The IAT consists of 12 Army welfare workers who provide specialist advice. Referrals are also made by unit welfare officers, police, children’s services and schools. Army welfare worker SSgt Jenny Brennan said: “I enjoy working at IAT and although it’s busy, it’s a privilege to support people and it gives me a real sense of achievement.”
Within the last year the team has worked on 2,710 cases and answered around 1,500 enquiries, including:
- Assisting a lady in Brazil who fell pregnant when the Zika virus was prevalent and required IAT assistance in getting home to the UK
- Helping a person abroad who self-referred to get support from an AWS worker overseas
- Implementing safety plans for a person who has been subject to domestic abuse.
The team deals with a large number of relationship issues and, when requested, will undertake assessments and then referrals to Health Assured.
Where referrals have come from overseas, the IAT can provide face-to-face support in exceptional cases.
IAT can be contacted on +44 (0) 1904 882 053, mil 94777 3053 or via email at AWS-HQ-IAT@mod.uk