SSAFA, the Armed Forces Charity — Support for Military Families

SSAFA (the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association) is the UK's oldest national tri-service military charity, providing lifelong support to serving personnel, veterans and their families. For military families going through separation, divorce or disputes about children, SSAFA offers practical and welfare support alongside the specialist legal routes available through the armed forces system.

REVIEWED BY: Sean McNamara on 2026-08-31

What SSAFA is

SSAFA dates back to 1885 and today supports around 85,000 people each year across the UK and in British forces communities overseas. It is a tri-service charity — covering the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force — serving both serving personnel and their families and veterans of all ages.

Its support network includes: welfare caseworkers (both professional and trained volunteers) who help families with everything from financial hardship and housing to health and family breakdown; Forcesline, a confidential helpline independent of the chain of command; specialist support for military families with additional needs and bereaved families; and local branches across the UK and on overseas stations.

Crucially for family disputes, SSAFA's welfare teams are independent of the military chain of command — a serving person or their spouse can approach SSAFA without informing their unit.

What help it offers

Forcesline: 0800 260 6767 — a free, confidential helpline for serving personnel, veterans and their families, independent of the chain of command (check ssafa.org.uk for current opening hours).
Practical welfare casework — SSAFA caseworkers help families in difficulty, including those facing separation or divorce: financial crisis grants, help with housing issues, support with debt, and signposting to specialist services.
Support for spouses and ex-partners — military life creates particular pressures (deployment, postings, overseas assignments) and SSAFA's remit explicitly includes families, not just the serving member.
Health and wellbeing services, including community support for families of personnel with additional needs.
Bereavement support for families of those who died in service.

SSAFA is not a legal service: it does not provide legal advice or representation in family proceedings, and its caseworkers will not intervene in litigation. Its role is practical and emotional support and getting you to the right specialist help.

Contact details

Website: https://www.ssafa.org.uk
Forcesline (confidential helpline): 0800 260 6767
Main office switchboard: 0800 260 6780 (press 1 for Forcesline)
Address: SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, 4 St Dunstan's Hill, London EC3R 8AD
Contact page: https://ssafa.org.uk/contact-us

These numbers and the address were verified against SSAFA's own contact page and the Charity Commission register (charity number 210760). SSAFA also has local branches and overseas offices — use the website's "get help" section to find your nearest one.

How a self-representing parent can use SSAFA

Military family cases have features civilians don't: the serviceperson may be deployed or posted abroad, accommodation may be tied to service (Service Families Accommodation), pensions are split under the Armed Forces pension scheme on divorce, and there is an MoD complaints system. SSAFA helps at these points:

1. Emergency practical support during proceedings. If separation has left you without money, food, or accommodation — including losing the quarter when the serving partner leaves — SSAFA caseworkers can arrange crisis grants and practical help quickly. 2. Confidential advice without the chain of command. If you (serving or spouse) are worried that raising family problems in the unit will affect careers, Forcesline is a genuinely independent, confidential first call. 3. Deployment and contact disputes. If deployment, posting or overseas service complicates contact arrangements with your child, SSAFA welfare staff can help document the practical reality and support applications to the family court or negotiations with the other parent. 4. Housing on separation. SSAFA can advise on Service Families Accommodation issues and signpost to the relevant service welfare or housing teams. 5. Referral to the right specialist help. For the legal questions themselves — pension sharing on divorce, jurisdiction when a family is posted abroad, enforcement of orders against a serving parent — SSAFA will signpost you to family legal aid firms with forces experience, and to organisations like Citizens Advice and the soldiers' charities' benevolent funds.

For the legal side of a military divorce, combine SSAFA's practical support with proper legal advice: legal aid for family law may be available where there is evidence of domestic abuse or child protection involvement, and the Forces Law society and the Law Society's find-a-solicitor search can identify firms experienced in forces cases.

Useful links

SSAFA homepage: https://www.ssafa.org.uk
Get help: https://www.ssafa.org.uk/get-help
Forcesline: https://www.ssafa.org.uk/get-help/forcesline
Contact us: https://ssafa.org.uk/contact-us
Charity Commission record: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/210760

This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws, procedures and contact details change — verify anything important against the official sources linked above before relying on it. Your Family Case is an independent directory listing; we take no referral fees and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or receiving payment from any organisation listed.

Content verified against the official HMCTS court directory, gov.uk forms and fees pages, and the professional body registers (SRA, FMC, Bar Council). Last reviewed September 2026.