Our long-term aims
- Increased numbers of serving and ex-serving Armed Forces personnel with mental health issues receiving effective horticultural therapy as provided by Gardening Leave.
- Reduced Armed Forces–related mental health stigma in communities where Gardening Leave works.
Gardening Leave needs to make sure that its work is not just nice, but necessary for those who access the service. Our work should be a respected part of the continuum of care for Armed Forces mental health care interventions.
Our aims for the next three years
During the next three years, Gardening Leave must focus on strengthening outcomes, understanding impact and developing sustainability. Each of these three areas will be applied to Gardening Leave’s mission, with the priority focus on its work to provide horticultural therapy to serving and ex-serving Armed Forces personnel.
In summary:
- To strengthen outcomes, Gardening Leave will be changing its work with clients so that it takes the form of 12-session goal-oriented courses, with improved referral and assessment activities.
- To understand impact, Gardening Leave will be introducing the Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) method to monitor change, and a wider research programme to capture best practice knowledge.
- To develop sustainability, Gardening Leave will focus on core activities and outreach and will implement a more strategic fundraising plan that supports predictable, accountable spending with the possibility of future expansion with a focus on inner-city locations.
Fundamental to these changes are:
- The creation of a sustainable fundraising strategy
- The role of our volunteers in supporting service delivery and fundraising
- The rooting of our sites in their local communities
- The process of location and outreach in urban areas
- The use of information technology to improve efficiency and inter-site communications
- Better partnerships and linkages with other organisations.
