Help for Heroes Beneficiary Portal

An entirely new way to ask for support

Help For Heroes was formed to provide the critical support veterans need at the times they need it most. While the support the charity provides is outstanding, the original way in which beneficiaries engaged with the charity wasn’t. In partnership with Help For Heroes, Giant digital reimagined this process and developed a new, digital beneficiary portal, aimed at creating a bridging experience between self-help and the referral.

Building the perfect solution, together

We knew we couldn’t create this solution in isolation, and so embarked on a detailed discovery process that included in-depth stakeholder interviews and feedback. We interviewed multiple beneficiaries who were using existing in-person services to understand their needs, and used this valuable insight to design a solution tailored to their individual circumstances.

Changing the lives of members of the Armed Forces community since 2007

A survey conducted by the RCGP and OVA found 55% of veterans have experienced health issues potentially related to their service since leaving the armed forces, and more than 80% have said their condition has become worse since returning to civilian life. This is where Help for Heroes makes the difference, supporting veterans and their families by giving life-changing support, no matter when or where they served.

Founded in 2007, today, Help for Heroes has supported over 27,000 veterans, and continues to support many more, who each day, reach out to the charity for support.

Building the path of least resistance

The insight gained from the discovery phase of the project was translated into digital process maps, which defined the different audiences and use cases for the solution. The aim was to ensure we reduced the time taken from when a veteran applied for support, to the time they received a response from Help For Heroes. Some of the key aspects of the project included:

• Understanding the various routes into the organisation to get support.
• Augmenting existing referrals with up-to-date information, both for the referrer and referee.
• Building a bespoke calendar frontend using HTMX to ensure accessibility compliance, and to ensure events could be mapped from third-party systems.
• Creating an API to move data seamlessly between multiple Help For Heroes digital platforms.
• Creating a dynamic form builder with a question/answer format for individual groups to tailor the support journey to individual needs.

The project has been a resounding success, so much so that it has reduced the lead time for beneficiaries receiving support from 3-4 weeks, to 3-4 days.