An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 19 Remembrance: Remembrance is the fourth pillar of ONE and it is therefore appropriate that the annual Fuchsia Appeal is launched at the Defence Forces National Memorial in Mer- rion Square. Remembrance serves to bring to mind, and keep in mind, those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and who we must always honour. We must also remember those veterans who for some reason or another become homeless or others that need our support. The current level of service provision costs ONE in the region of €800,000 annually and our future annual funding requirement is estimated at €1,000,000. Our Dublin hostel, Brú na bhFiann, receives support from the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, and the Department of Defence contributes annually towards the administrative overheads of the charity. The balance of our income, approximately €650,000 for future planned services, comes through various fundraising activities. These include members' subscriptions, donations, revenue from meals and accommodation, and our national collection through the Fuchsia Appeal. Corporate bodies can fulfil their social responsibility by sponsor- ing rooms in our homes, sponsoring their local VSC or ONE branch, or by donating their expertise. ONE is increasingly benefitting from support from businesses and other charity partners, and we gratefully acknowledge the great support received from: Cygnus Consulting, who have become the first company to sponsor a room in one of our facilities; ROTHCO/Accenture, one of our close neigh- bours in Smithfield, who spearheaded the Sleeping Flags Aware- ness Campaign, which as well as winning a host of media awards, more importantly, helped ONE identify and support a number of homeless veterans that would otherwise not have come to our attention; Harte Communications for media advice; Dublin Bus, for continuing our Sleeping Flags Awareness Campaign in July; the Leopardstown Park Hospital Trust, who sponsor the training of our staff and volunteers; and the ESB's Energy for Generations Fund, for their support in upgrading the lighting systems in Brú na bhFiann. It is impor tant to know what you are sup- por ting, so what follows is a flavour of our future plans. In Brú na bhFiann, in partnership with the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive and the HSE, we are increasing the number of bedrooms for homeless veterans from 30 to 36, providing an ante room (day room) for residents, and developing a veterans coun- selling service. We are co-operating with hospitals to create a pathway for those who need long-term care. We are also continuing to develop our facilities in Beechwood House and Custume House; opening a small hostel in Cobh in tandem with the VSC; and examining the provision of further hostel facilities in the Munster area. In conclusion, our members, staff and volun- teers give excellent service to ONE through their commitment to helping veterans in their time of need. Other veterans associations and individu- als also provide outstanding support to their less fortunate comrades. Throughout this article we do not quantify the terms 'service' or 'veteran' as it is our view that the duration, type of service, and rank achieved are not important; rather it is that veterans served their country at home and overseas. Some of those veterans now need others to help them. Advocacy: Sleeping Flags Campaign: Pictured on Virgin Media's Ireland AM on the 11th February 2019 is Richard Dillon House Manager of Brú na bhFiann accompanied by Tony Stafford a former resident in Brú na bhFiann advocating on ONE's behalf to raise public awareness in aid of homeless Defence Forces veterans it supports. Remembrance: Pictured at this year's Veterans Day parade in Collins Barracks is the new ONE National President Jim Fay, laying a wreath in memory of those Defence Forces members who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the service to the State, along with representatives from veterans associations IUNVA and ARCO.

• Cover