The Army hero with PTSD who's using his pension to save others

A FORMER soldier left homeless after suffering from PTSD has used his Army pension to set up a mental health charity and community kitchen.

- By Chris Riches

Eddie Dean spent 22 years serving with the Royal Fusiliers.

But now his award-winning charity Anxious Minds helps support more than 2,000 people battling mental health issues, poverty and addiction across the North East of England.

The Daily Express joined Eddie at his community kitchen in Wallsend, North Tyneside, which was full of grateful locals and veterans enjoying a hot meal.

Eddie, 60, told us: “Life has its challenges, and many people face difficult times in their lives.

“I still have days where I struggle, but I’m in a lot better space now. It’s all about having something to focus on.

“We've got four centres, including an outdoor therapy centre in Northumberland, and support people with counselling, addiction, trauma and abuse support, poverty crisis intervention and so on.

“We even have two acres of woodland at Prudhoe, where we take people mountain biking or exploring forestry skills.

“It’s not just veterans — it’s helping children facing trauma through our counselling programme, women suffering domestic violence...anybody. We support those in poverty too.”

Struggling

Eddie joined the Army at the age of 19 and during his career, he completed multiple tours of Northern Ireland and served in the first Iraq War, where he tragically lost 11 close comrades.

But it wasn’t until he started training British troops ready to serve in Afghanistan in 2006 that he developed PTSD.

Eddie tried — and failed — to get NHS help for his mental health but when his marriage broke down because of his issues, the dad of three ended up on the streets.