GEO/LISA peer support is being expanded to other areas
Talking groups set up to support the mental wellbeing of serving military, veterans and their families are going to be popping up in some new places. The GEO/LISA peer support network is growing out from the Barton upon Humber and Hull areas where it began.
GEO comes from George “Geo” Ellis, a former soldier from Barton upon Humber who sadly took his own life at the age of 24 in 2021. The letters also stand for Get Emotions Out.
Geo’s father, Adrian Ellis, formed GEO Support in memory of his son. It was created with the aim of providing a safe space for military men to talk about their experiences and support one another.
Similarly, LISA comes from Sgt Lisa Bateman, of Driffield. She was a serving medic who also took her own life, at the age of 34, in 2020.
Her mother, Carole Scholes, has worked with Hull 4 Heroes to set up Lisa’s Ladies, encouraging serving and former military women to open up and talk. GEO/LISA groups now run in Hull, HMP Hull, Barton upon Humber, Grimsby and Lincoln, with a new LISA group about to launch aboard the historic Syntan barge in Beverley.
Another group is in the early stages of development for Bridlington. Dave Serjeant, GEO / LISA project lead at Hull 4 Heroes, said: “Our peer group support is an important part of the work we do at Hull 4 Heroes.
“We are spreading our wings and a LISA group will be starting on Wednesday, October 8, from 6pm, on the Syntan at Crane Hill Wharf in Beverley. It will then be held on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month.
“After we started with GEO groups, we thought, what about the female veterans, what about the wives and mothers of serving soldiers? What have they gone through?
“LISA is somewhere for them to go and talk about their fears and their anxieties. We have one lady whose son was killed on his way home on leave in a road traffic accident, and she uses LISA; it’s all-encompassing for people.
“They don’t have to have lost someone. They could be just going through some sort of trauma in their life.
“Why GEO/LISA is important is it’s about people from the same sort of military background. They can empathise with each other.
“Sometimes at the meetings they will have a laugh and find comfort. It’s not all doom and gloom and there is great camaraderie.”
Dave said: “I don’t know of any other talking groups for women apart from LISA. There is Andy’s Man Club for men, for example.
“What we want to do now is to get word out of these groups in the community. The Bridlington group is very much in its infancy now but we do an outreach from Hull 4 Heroes.
“We started a group in Grimsby with NEL 4 Heroes, and a group in Waddington. I’ve just had an email from Barnsley council arranging a date for me to go and see them about starting a group there.
“We have contacted people as far as Newcastle where a group called Launchpad helps homeless veterans by providing accommodation and support. We’d like to reach out to people and have them say, ‘yes, I have a problem and I need help’ and get them over the threshold.”
You can find out more on the Hull 4 Heroes website under the “what we do” dropdown.