Ruby Boots is Fife-based project, which is about helping young people to get prepared for parents leaving the armed forces in the future.
Do you have a parent who left the armed forces recently? Great! Ruby Boots can help you too!
We’re will match you with a peer buddy mentor, who is a young person who has already made the change from military to civilian life with their family.
They will help you to get prepared for your new life, to provide helpful lots of helpful advice and to provide opportunities to get involved in fun-based activities.
So, that means we’re looking for young people who have veteran parents to get involved too to train to become peer buddy mentors.
Simply fill in your details below and a member of our Ruby Boots Team will get in touch to find out a little more about you and to talk you through the process.
Katy is our Ruby Boots Coordinator, who talks about how Forces Children Scotland has turned an idea generated by young people into a new service, why it is needed and how it will support young people who have parents leaving the armed forces in Fife.
For young people who have a parent who has recently left the armed forces, or will do very shortly, it’s an opportunity to reach out other young people who have already went through this transition with their families.
If you have made the transition from military to civilian life with your family, it’s about bringing your lived experience to help fellow young people at the start of that particular journey.
It’s about meeting on a weekly basis to have a chat, to provide information, advice and tips to help get prepared, and to take part in lots of fun-based activities that will help to make new friends, explore new things, get used to new surroundings and much more.
Working together with an adult facilitator, you will create a buddy agreement to meet on a weekly basis to talk about whatever you want, ask questions and have fun.
Young people who have made the big change to become a veteran family told Forces Children Scotland that specific help wasn’t there when their parents decided to leave the armed forces.
That’s why we sourced funding from The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust to make sure young people receive specific support to make big changes when it is needed most.
Simply fill in your details below and a member of our Ruby Boots Team will get in touch to find out a little more about you and to talk you through the process.
Step 1: Referral
It all starts with completing the referral form below to let us know that you’re interested in getting involved in Ruby Boots – you can self-refer or a family member, friend or teacher can complete on your behalf too.
Step Two: A Quick Chat
Chat with Katy to learn more about the process and how we will support you to get involved. We’ll also want to learn a little more about you and talk about your hobbies, interests, and what sort of things you look for in a friend.
Step Three: Group Activities
To help you get prepared and feeling as comfortable as possible, we’ll bring you together with other young people who are going through the same thing to share experiences, participate in activities and make friends.
Step Four: Matching
We’ll take the information you provided to match you up with either someone who has a parent leaving the armed forces or someone who has already made the change to civilian life, as well as meet an adult volunteer facilitator.
Step Five: Weekly Meetings
You will then have weekly meetings with your buddy and volunteer facilitator where you can meet and do whatever works for you. We hope these meetings are fun for all involved where you can take part in lots of fun-based activities.
Step Six: Quick Review
After six months, we’ll get together to review how things have gone for you. You may choose to continue weekly meetings, leave the programme, train to become a buddy mentor or match with someone else. You’re in control.
Simply fill in your details below and a member of our Ruby Boots Team will get in touch to find out a little more about you and to talk you through the process.