Registered
- Charity no. 110962
- Date registered. 05/02/2026
Public benefits
1. Prevention or relief of poverty. The direct benefits which flow from this purpose include improved access for our beneficiaries to avail of financial and welfare assistance and respite support. Special needs arising from psychological or physical injuries are signposted and we host visits and information sessions from other veterans support
bodies. By providing daily access to our drop-in centre we bring people together in social gatherings in a safe and secure environment to remember our military service and experiences during The Troubles. Services are provided on an affordable basis aiming to relieve social exclusion and other hardships and provide low level support. Beneficiaries can become volunteers themselves and this provides empowerment and a sense of worth in the local community. 2. Advancement of human rights, conflict resolution and reconciliation. The direct benefits which flow from this purpose are that veterans in the Coleraine area are provided with the opportunity to meet other victims and survivors of conflict. Beneficiaries can find friendship and comradeship to improve their emotional well-being and relieve feelings of trauma and psychological distress. Beneficiaries who share their experiences can begin to come to terms with their involvement in conflict. This promotes healing and reconciliation in the local community and society as a whole. Taking part in local community activities allows interaction with other groups who may have experienced conflict in other ways and assist with the process of moving on and living together for the benefit of all. These benefits will be demonstrated by the use of various monitoring processes. Participants in social outings, and respite trips fill in an evaluation form recording their feedback. We also use more in-depth case studies which are fed back to our trustees and to our grant provider VSS. We record attendance statistics, financial expenditure and data on referrals to other groups for mental health and wellbeing support and counselling. Monthly meetings are held allowing opportunities for direct feedback. There is no harm arising from our purposes. Our beneficiaries are those former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment or members of the Royal Irish Regiment and their widows, widowers, dependents and families who are in need in the Coleraine area. There may be private benefit flowing from our purposes which is incidental and necessary in the circumstances, where a trustee has been a serving member of the UDR in their past and who may find themselves in necessitous circumstances because of social or financial reasons. They will not receive and preferential treatment to other beneficiaries.
What your organisation does
Our organisation is run by veterans for veterans concentrating on victims and survivors of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and their families, widows and widowers. We operate a drop-in centre in Coleraine providing a focal point where they can meet in a safe and secure environment. The Centre is staffed by a paid part-time office administrator
and assisted by volunteers from our Branch and it is usually the first point of contact with our beneficiaries. We provide initial low level support and advice and often a friendly chat and a cup of tea and a connection with past veterans and friends is all that is needed. We do signpost to other statutory agencies and other veterans organisations including the UDR Benevolent Fund for financial help, and access to health and mental well-being referrals. We provide assistance to former colleagues by welfare visits to their homes or to nursing/care homes. At the request of families we do participate in funerals by providing a Guard of Honour, reading the eulogy or supplying a bugler or piper. In addition to our drop-in centre we also provide beneficiaries who have experienced levels of trauma and of feeling lonely, excluded or isolated with the opportunity to take part in social outings and respite support. This takes the form of evening activities, day trips and overnight trips. Evening activites such as to the cinema, 10-pin bowling, pitch and putt, provide a short time away from home to try new activities or learn new skills. Longer day trips by coach give the opportunity to visit new places and often include military interest trips to museums to see collections of artefacts and equipment from the period of The Troubles which helps in reminiscing and stories about our past service in the UDR. Overnight trips of 4 nights usually to the UK mainland, or to the Republic of Ireland offer our beneficiaries the chance to socialise with a large group and to catch up with old friends and comrades and to make new friends.
The charity’s classifications
- The prevention or relief of poverty
- The relief of those in need by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage
- Other charitable purposes
Who the charity helps
- General public
- General public
- Older people
- Physical disabilities
- Voluntary and community sector
How the charity works
- Advice/advocacy/information
- Community development