Meet our Team: Thomas Meaden

Here at Woody’s Lodge, we love to show you what goes on behind the scenes and we know how much you love our meet our team posts! We would like to introduce you to our Operations Manager for North Wales, Tom! 

Born in Liverpool but grew up in North Wales, Tom left school in 1975 to join the National Coal Board Point of Ayr Colliery as a Mining Craft Apprentice. Although, he had actually wanted to join the Royal Navy! Tom finally got his wish in January 1977, when he joined the Royal Navy and served until December 1989. 

Leaving the Royal Navy

When Tom left the Royal Navy, he struggled to adjust to civilian life. He knows what it is to come out of service and feel like no one wants you, or cares. However, he found work as a prison officer and joined HM Prison Services in 1992. It was working in the prison service that really changed his life and helped him deal with and understand people, which has really helped with his work today. He stayed with the prison service until 1997. 

After a double heart bypass in 2015, Tom found himself out of work and completely lost. He was 57 and had no idea what to do next. One day he was browsing on Facebook when he discovered the Poppy Factory. So Tom signed up for a Lifeworks Course through the Poppy Factory, which is part of the Royal British Legion. He really recommends it, it’s a 5-day course that shows you what talents you have and the best way to use them, from this you create a CV which shows off your talents. In addition, you get some practice opportunities to have live interviews with people in different industries and it teaches you interview techniques. 

Through the Poppy Factory, was when Tom heard about Woody’s Lodge, at the time, we were established in South Wales but were just getting started in North Wales. Initially starting out as a volunteer for us at Woody’s, we offered Tom the position of Support Officer in April 2019. Thanks to Tom’s previous experience working at the Benefits Shop, he had considerable knowledge of Benefits and Pensions and had a lot of experience supporting others through the DWP process.

Finding Woody’s Lodge

Using his experience volunteering at the Benefits Shop, working as a Support Officer here at Woody’s, Tom was integral to supporting veterans and their families, in particular assisting with form-filling and helping veterans navigate their way through the DWP processes. From benefits to pensions and supporting veterans at tribunals for their Personal Independence Payments and Disability Living Allowance. Navigating the DWP systems and processes can be complicated and stressful, often when a veteran submits their application, there will be a rejection and it will have to go to an appeal process, which can be very stressful. 

Tom tells us openly that Woody’s Lodge has really given him a purpose and something to get up for in the morning. After just over a year in the role of Support Officer in North Wales, Woody’s underwent a restructure as it had grown so much. Graham, who was the Project Officer at North Wales became CEO for Woody’s Lodge. There was also the creation of two new roles: Operations Manager for each North and South Wales sites, and Tom was appointed Operations Manager for the North Wales site which supports veterans across North Wales from Eirias Park down to Llandysul, across to Haye on Wye and back up to Eirias Park.

As Operations Manager for North Wales, Tom’s job is to signpost and help veterans find the right support that they need, although he is still very active in supporting with Benefits and Pensions. He knows that it is so daunting to come out of service, not knowing what to do! Woody’s Lodge was greatly needed in North Wales as there’s a large veteran population. In the future, Tom hopes Woody’s Lodge will continue to grow and give even more support to veterans and their families, so their lives can be better. 

Another part of Tom’s role is to attend Armed Forces Covenant meetings where the Woody’s Lodge team meet other agencies and charities and collaborate to ensure that they are giving the best service to veterans across Wales. For example, he work very closely with BLESMA, SSAFA and the Royal British Legion. 

In North Wales, there are eight veteran drop-in centres, our drop-in centres are the perfect opportunity to come in, have a brew and enjoy a relaxed environment where you can connect with veterans who have similar experiences to you. It’s also where we can support our veterans, working out what support is needed and how we can help, a big part of Tom’s role as a Support Officer was to support the veterans that we meet at the drop-in centres, with form-filling, applying for benefits, health referrals and any other support they need to make their lives easier. 

Lockdown Life

Since COVID-19 hit and we went into lockdown in March, all of our veteran drop-in centres have been closed and we’ve been waiting for the Welsh Government to lift restrictions on gatherings so that we could start the drop-ins again. We have been having a weekly Zoom call instead, but it’s not the same as meeting face-to-face and sitting down to have a chat and a brew. To ensure that our new project The Green, Green Grass of Home is going as soon as possible, Tom has been helping to prepare Penlan Farm with Steve Owen, the new manager at Penlan Farm, and his team, plus volunteers from across Woody’s! Tom has also been really busy keeping in touch with our veterans over the phone, whilst it’s been really difficult not being able to see each-other in person, he’s optimistic that our drop-in centres will be able to open again soon! 

Tom works closely with our CEO, Graham, who works with Berwyn Prison. In the future, Tom hopes to work closer with the prison system and help veterans who have found themselves in prison. Many prisons actually have a veteran’s wing. Tom would like to work with veterans in prisons and offer them support and guidance for when they leave prison. There’s housing accommodation in Wrexham Ty-Dwyr where veterans leaving prison can live as a stable home, it also teaches them how to manage out of prison and hopefully progress into a stable home. This is something that Tom is really passionate about and would love for this to be a bigger part of his life in the future!

It’s so important to Tom to reach other veterans and to really encourage them to come out to Woody’s Lodge and get the support that they deserve and need. It’s Tom’s favourite part of his role and it really gives him a sense of purpose. So, if you’re a veteran of the armed forces or emergency services or their family and you need some support, please reach out to Woody’s Lodge.  

Woody’s Lodge is a communications and social hub for veterans of the armed forces and emergency services, along with their families. We provide safe spaces for armed service veterans, recent leavers, reservists and those who served in the emergency services to socialise and access a wide range of health and social services. Why not see if one of our veteran drop-in centres is near you?