My name is Gemma, and I am the founder of AURIS Identity System™ and the Identity After the Uniform research project.

I began this work because I wanted to understand something that is often discussed, but far less often properly explored:

What happens to a person when the role, structure, community and sense of identity that shaped their life suddenly changes?

For many people leaving military service, emergency services and other high identity professions, the transition does not simply mean changing jobs. It can mean losing a role, a routine, a sense of belonging, purpose and sometimes an understanding of who they are outside the uniform.

My research is looking at that transition and asking an important question:

Can we identify what people need earlier, before difficulties become crisis?

AURIS was developed from this work as a prevention focused framework built around five areas:

Awareness. Understanding. Regulation. Identity. Stability.

The aim is not to replace clinical care or tell people how they should live. It is to understand the experiences people have during major identity transitions and develop practical, evidence informed support that can help people build a stronger foundation for what comes next.

I have personally funded this project as far as I have been able to.

The research, framework, resources and digital delivery system have already been developed significantly. But to take the research to the next stage, I now need help.

Our first fundraising goal is £10,000.

This will help us continue the research, including participant work, transcription, analysis and coding, development of the evidence base, prevention resources, pilot development and sharing the findings more widely.

The research is ultimately intended to benefit veterans, emergency service personnel, NHS staff, first responders and their families, as well as others who experience major changes in identity and purpose.

I am asking for support because I believe this question deserves to be researched properly.

What if we could understand the transition before people reach crisis?

What if we could help people recognise what is happening to them, understand it, regulate through it, rebuild their identity and create stability for the future?

That is what I am trying to find out.

If you can donate, thank you.

If you cannot donate, sharing this fundraiser could be just as valuable.

Every share helps this research reach someone who may understand why this matters.

Help us finish the research.

Help us build prevention.

Help us understand what comes after the uniform.