Copy
It has been a busy time for One Family as we prepare to move to our new offices in Smithfield Square, Dublin 7 and as we celebrate our 45th anniversary this year. We are excited that we will be able to bring our services to a greater number of people from our new headquarters. You are invited to come and say farewell to Cherish House on Wednesday 28th of June. See below for full details.

Our policy work continues  in advance of the Budget in October. We have made a number of submissions to Government and launched results of our National Shared Parenting Survey, while next month will make our Pre-Budget Submission.

Our annual free Family Day Festival took place last month, and even though it was probably the wettest day of the year, great fun was had by all as we celebrated family diversity with wonderful entertainment and activities.
For many years we have been seeking ways to find more suitable accommodation for our work as we have long outgrown Cherish House in Dublin’s Pembroke Street. This narrow five storey Georgian building has served us well and we thank the innovation of the One Family founders for purchasing it over 40 years ago. Late in 2016 we found more suitable premises that are larger and accessible in Dublin’s Smithfield area. We look forward to continuing our work from our new home from August. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates on our move next month.

An Update from the 'Policy Desk'

It has been an active year so far in relation to our policy and advocacy work as we continue to ensure the voices of people parenting alone are heard. In January, we launched the results of our National Shared Parenting Survey. We also presented to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection where we spoke about the multiple challenges and barriers that lone parents often face in accessing education or employment. The Committee have issued a report based on the presentations put before them over the past year which includes our recommendations, and which you can read more about here.

One Family also made a submission to the Department of Social Protection regarding the development of a new Working Family Payment to support low income families. We have continued to work closely with the Department of Children & Youth Affairs (DCYA) to ensure that the new Affordable Childcare Scheme supports lone parents in education or work. We also sit as a parent representative on two consultative committees chaired by DCYA which seek to ensure the scheme operates effectively when it is fully rolled out next year.

We also welcomed the launch of a document on child poverty that puts forward real solutions to Government to end child poverty in all its forms. Developed under the auspices of the National Advisory Council on Children and Young People by a subgroup of members including One Family, it offers recommendations that can help Government to meet their commitment to lift 100,000 children out of poverty by 2020.

Family Day - Celebrating Family Diversity

We celebrated our annual Family Day Festival in celebration of family diversity in May in our new location at Smithfield Square, Dublin 7. We had a fabulous line up of entertainment for the day including magician Brian Daly, the Dublin Ukulele Collective, Jitterbug Jackson and workshops in Brown Bag Films. Although it turned to be the wettest day of the year to date, seeing the happy, smiling faces of those who braved the weather kept our team of staff and volunteers smiling too. Thank you to everyone who joined us on the day, to our fantastic volunteers, and to everyone who supports Family Day. 

Check out pictures from the day here.

You are Invited

 
On Wednesday 28th June, the doors of Cherish House at 2 Lower Pembroke Street, Dublin 2 will be open as we invite you to come and visit with us between 10am - 4pm. Say farewell to the building, share memories, a chat and a cuppa, and enjoy an exhibition of our photographs and archival materials from the 1970s to the present.
One Family believes in an Ireland where every family is cherished equally, and enjoys the social, financial and legal equality to create their own positive future.
Learn more about One Family.
Our mailing address is:
Cherish House, 2 Lr Pembroke St, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Why am I getting this?
You are receiving this email as you signed up to One Family's mailing list or had previous communication with us. If you'd prefer not to receive it, please click on the link below to unsubscribe.

Copyright © One Family, 2017 | All rights reserved