Dorchester, Events & Entertainment | Posted on August 23rd, 2024 | return to news
Dorset veterans and serving personnel invited for tea and toast
Military veterans and serving personnel in the county are invited to a monthly social meeting in Dorchester offering support.
Military veterans and serving personnel across Dorset are being invited to join a monthly meeting in Dorchester designed to provide support and an opportunity to socialise.
Jozek Stanko first organised Tea and Toast in March last year in the drill hall of Dorchester Army Reserve Centre. It has become a monthly meeting with around a dozen regular attendees.
Jozek is a caretaker at the Centre and one of his roles is a mental health first aider. He said: “I assist veterans and serving soldiers and give advice and support where needed. “I set up Tea and Toast for veterans of all three military services to come onto the site, meet up for a couple of hours, have a chat and just make sure they are all fine.”
The meeting is free to attend and there is no charge for refreshments. “It is funded by myself,” says Jozek. “There is nothing coming from the public purse.”
Stanko also arranges for volunteers from the British Legion, Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund and the Soldiers’, Sailors’, and Airmen’s Families Association (SAFFA) to come to meeting and give briefings on what support or benefits veterans can apply for.
Among the regular attendees of Tea and Toast are navy veterans, as well as members of Weymouth Veterans Hub. Members of Dorset Police Association are also invited and are known to attend.
“I think a few of [the attendees] are worried that, as the numbers are generally around 10–15 people, I may close it down,” says Jozek. “But that is not the case. Whether there is one or 100 people, it will still continue as long as I am in post.”
Tea and Toast for veterans and serving personnel is held every third Wednesday of the month, from 10am to midday, in the upstairs main bar of Dorchester Army Reserve Centre. Entry, refreshments and parking are all free of charge.
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