An Cosantóir

9 ONE Uachtarán na hÉireann referred to the spirit of comradeship in an address on 11th September 2019 in Áras an Uachtaráin when he stated that "The spirit of camaraderie and solidarity among serving and retired soldiers, sailors and Air Corps personnel is an innate and vital part of the culture of serving in the Defence Forces." The President went on to state that "It is something I have witnessed. I have, for example, had the privilege of visiting Brú na bhFiann, the residence for homeless former members of the Defence Forces. On the occasion I visited, I was moved by the spirit of kindness, compassion and solidarity … in looking after their comrades and in extending that work into the local community." He further stated that "Your shared experience gives you perhaps a unique empathy and a deep understanding that men and women who have given so much in the service of the state should not have to experience such difficulty." The difficultues referred to by our Patron were exacerbated during the pandemic but ONE Hostels continued to operate in line with Government and HSE guidelines and directions. Our hostels have always worked to the highest standard possible and it is those very standards that enabled them to sustain the high quality of service that they continue to provide for our veterans. We owe staff of our hostels a deep debt of gratitude. Robert W Cox, a Canadian Political Scientist, advanced the argument that there are three categories of forces that interact in a structure: capabilities; ideas; and the institution. ONE constantly examines its capabilities to support veterans and details of further developments will be outlined later in this article. There is no shortage of ideas in ONE and the challenge lies in implementing the multitude of very good ones. The last element is the institution itself. Institutions have a predisposition to stay the same and take on a life of their own. ONE is resisting that by continually evolving, challenging itself to do more, and not standing still. ONE lives through action rather than relying on words. That action is represented in its foundation in the post Emergency period, the opening of its current three hostels, the development of fifteen veterans support centres and thirty-six branches nationwide, its plans for additional hostels. Plus other support for our veterans in its new Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. ONE is a positive organisation, marked by a willingness not to blame others for the plight of our homeless veterans. Instead we have a host of volunteers and professional staff wanting to find solutions and accepting, in the spirit of comradeship, responsibility for their fellow veteran. Instead of asking questions about what others are doing, we must continuously challenge ourselves to do more. ONE would love to forecast an end to the plight of homeless veterans but we believe the situation will continue to dis- improve. That is why we are constantly developing our services. Since January 2020, ONE has:- • Increased the number of rooms for homeless veterans from thirty to thirty-five in Brú na bhFiann. The number of rooms provided is subject to the terms of a Service Level Agreement between ONE and Dublin Regional Homeless Executive and is not an arbitrary figure. • Developed an Ante Room (Day Room) in Brú na bhFiann for residents. Brú na bhFiann building

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