Credibility, Trust, and Lived Experience: Welcoming Sarah Bushby MC to Forward Assist

At Forward Assist, we have always believed that the people best placed to support veterans are those who truly understand the journey — not just professionally, but personally. That belief has shaped everything we do, and it is the reason we are proud to welcome Sarah Bushby MC to our team.

Sarah joins us at an exciting and significant moment, as Forward Assist takes on two ambitious new programmes: the Veterans Intensive Probation Supervision (VIPS) pilot, and Project RISE — funded through the Covenant Fund Trust.

A Journey That Comes Full Circle

What makes Sarah's appointment particularly meaningful is that her connection to Forward Assist did not begin in a job description. After leaving the Army, Sarah accessed our services herself. She came to us during one of the hardest transitions a person can make moving from military life into a civilian world that can often feel indifferent to the experiences that veterans carry with them.

For the past six months, Sarah has been volunteering with us quietly and generously giving her time, her energy, and her experience to support the veterans coming through our doors. That commitment, before any contract or title, speaks volumes about her character and her belief in what Forward Assist stands for.

That she now joins us formally as a member of our team is not just a personal milestone. It is a testament to what peer-led support can achieve and a powerful signal to every veteran we work with that recovery, growth, and purpose are possible.

The Military Cross — and What It Represents

Sarah was awarded the Military Cross, one of the British Armed Forces' highest decorations for gallantry. But beyond the honour itself, what the MC represents in the context of her new role is something more important: credibility. When Sarah sits across from a veteran who has found themselves in the criminal justice system, or who is rebuilding their life from the ground up, she brings not just professional expertise but unimpeachable lived experience. That cannot be manufactured, and it cannot be overstated.

The Veterans Intensive Probation Supervision Pilot

The VIPS pilot represents a landmark opportunity to ensure that veterans moving through the probation system receive specialist, trauma-informed support that accounts for the unique challenges of military service. Too often, veterans in contact with the justice system fall through the cracks, their service histories unacknowledged, their needs unmet by systems not designed with them in mind.

Sarah will be central to the delivery of this pilot, working alongside probation services to ensure veterans receive the right interventions at the right time. Her combination of military credibility and personal understanding of what Forward Assist's support can offer makes her ideally suited to build the trust these relationships require.

Project RISE — Funded by the Covenant Fund Trust

Project RISE is Forward Assist's Covenant Fund-supported programme focused on rehabilitation and reintegration for veterans facing complex challenges. It is built on the principle that with the right support, structure, and community around them, veterans can rise to meet the challenges that life after service presents.

Sarah's appointment brings lived experience directly into the heart of RISE's delivery. She knows what it means to need support. She knows what it means to receive it from people who understand. And she knows what it means to come out the other side.

Looking Ahead

We are at a pivotal moment at Forward Assist. The VIPS pilot and Project RISE represent our most ambitious steps yet into veteran-specific criminal justice and rehabilitation work, and we are doing it with the right person leading from the front.

Sarah Bushby MC's return to Forward Assist is more than a hire. It is a statement about who we are as an organisation — and about the kind of future we believe is possible for every veteran we serve.

Welcome back, Sarah.