30+ years of service and preparedness can still leave you short for ‘That Day’ when it comes:
Jon and his family live in a quiet countryside village with their two young teenage children.
Jon retired from the Metropolitan Police two years ago, following more than 30 years of service. Jon works part time as a youth coach and has always led an active life, regularly going for walks with his family and helping out with the local cadet force in his spare time.
Jon’s wife recently found herself in a difficult spot after Jon suffered a stroke which left him physically and mentally impaired.
Jon’s story is like so many before him, he did everything he thought was right. He worked hard, provided for his family, and even had the good sense to set up a financial security blanket for his family, in the event something should happen.
Jon’s family are currently struggling to cope with their situation, with the upset of Jon’s impairment compounded by the fact his security blankets cannot be kicked in to play due to his cognitive responses being so severe that he is unable to pull the trigger on these policies.
The police fund have stepped up and offered an immediate bridge of £500, in the hope that this will suffice until such time as Jon recovers enough to initiate the safety policies for him and his family.
£500 is not a lot for a family of four, but it is help well received when the alternatives were so much more bleak. The children, 11 and 13 years old, have heartbreakingly told their mum they do not need to be paid the pocket money they have enjoyed until now. The boys are instead canvassing neighbours for work in any capacity to ensure they can contribute to the upkeep of the family they love so dearly.
DropZone Brewery has been involved in the support and awareness of Jon’s situation, and are now actively engaging with groups offering support to Jon’s family. We will continue to do so until such time as their personal situation becomes sustainable.
As much as we think we are ready for the inevitable, the story of Jon and Kathy is another example of how far and wide the sudden loss of normality can hit the whole family.
Support networks are an essential service we need, and turn to, in our darkest of hours. How many of us truly value and support those networks, before we find ourselves in need of their services? DropZone Brewery’s business ethos is based around the need to raise awareness and coordination between such valuable services and aims to bring the support networks and veteran communities together in order that no one is left wanting more than the situation dictates.
Help us to bring it all together, like, share and repost this message as far and wide as you can. We are a TEAM, Together Everyone Achieves More, and together we can make a difference.
