Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) caused as a direct result of their brave service in defence of our nation has affected an increasing number of our veterans over the past few years. It’s a sad tale where the invisible wounds they bring home aren’t understood or addressed properly. Finding their way in ‘civvy street’ can be an arduous task for some of our ex-service personnel. However, there is some light at the end of this dark tunnel in the form of man’s best friend and a charity that really cares.
BRAVEHOUND is the canine wing of the charity GLEN ART who support former servicemen and women and their families. Based in Scotland, Glen Art has developed a new programme where they link suitable veterans with companion dogs. BRAVEHOUND provides the companion dogs and then supplies the support for the dog and veteran over the dogs’ life. At Glen Art, they know that owning a dog can provide companionship, promote taking exercise and is a panacea to a good routine. It’s their aim to match suitable veterans with companion dogs to support the ex-service person’s transition into civilian life. Glen Art also support the veterans with pet insurance, feeding, and equipment. It’s an initiative that’s making in-roads to helping heal those hidden wounds.
When the charity was seeking to re-modernise their training facility in Erskine Hospital with new safety flooring, they appeared on the radar of international flooring and interiors specialist Gerflor who happily agreed to help. The installation of the Gerflor flooring would fall to Glasgow-based Muirgroup Interiors Ltd.
Muirgroup Interiors Ltd are a family business which has been supplying the contract interior flooring market since 1976. As leading Scottish supplier of commercial vinyl, their team based in Barrhead, Glasgow are experienced in the installation of many bespoke design floors and logos, as well as standard single sheet projects. Jim Magill, Estimator, Muirgroup Interiors Ltd commented, “Bravehound operate from the ex-serviceman’s hospital in Erskine”. He went on to add, “we had already been carrying-out the maintenance flooring work for Erskine Hospital and they approached us on this project to recommend and fit a suitable safety flooring product for the Bravehound training room”. Jim Magill further added, “we approached Gerflor and they very quickly and kindly suggested they would like to donate some of their Tarasafe Standard vinyl safety flooring. We knew this would be the perfect choice as we had worked with Gerflor products in the past”.
The BRAVEHOUND project at Erskine Hospital would need 200m2 of Gerflor’s Tarasafe Standard vinyl safety flooring in Royal Blue.
Fiona MacDonald, Founder and Director of Glen Art said, “Our training room at Erskine Hospital is now very smart. We can also now use it for events, so it makes a huge difference to us on a practical level. For the veterans we support, having flooring of this quality donated to us is a huge boost to morale”.
With more than 70 years’ experience, Gerflor’s expertise in safety flooring is unrivalled. The Tarasafe™ vinyl safety flooring range is available in over 80 finishes
and is reinforced with a glass fibre grid, suitable for use in all areas of heavy traffic where slip-resistance, durability and hygienic conditions are required. Using mineral crystal particles, rather than the industry standard carborundum, Tarasafe, with its improved performance, is easier to install, lighter and more flexible to handle. The range has a maximum hygiene rating meeting the EN Standard 22196 for anti- bacterial activity (E. coli – S. aureus – MRSA) (3) returning >99% levels of growth inhibition and comes with a 12-year warranty. Tarasafe is stain and chemical resistant and comes with the unique SparClean® surface treatment thus no polish for life. Tarasafe is a hugely popular choice for a host of environments; education, healthcare, leisure, hospitality, housing and in any applications that require slip resistance to be maintained.
Fiona MacDonald concluded by saying, “I know that our veterans deserve the very best, and it’s wonderful that Gerflor agree too”.
Learn more about Gerflor solutions, ask for a free sample or contact us to speak to a specialist today by calling 01926 622 600, emailing contractuk@gerflor.com, or visiting gerflor.co.uk for the latest innovations.
For more Information on the Bravehound charity www.bravehound.co.uk