We are now averaging over 1000 visitors per month to our Home Base for the Veteran Community. The Free Queensland Government legal advice for the veteran community provided by Townsville Community Law is proving a big hit. The Grants Workshops for ESOs and community groups were very well received, and we have more arranged in the months ahead – see What’s On. Some amazing employment and education initiatives are rolling out – the latest being the advanced manufacturing opportunity to get veterans trained and employed immediately. We have the Royal Commission in Townsville from 20 June and the Commissioners are set to visit The Oasis Townsville to see our operations. All systems go for a re-enactment of our Grand Launch with our Anniversary Open Day on 25 Jun – put it in the diary. Our coffee and banjo breakfasts are a big hit, even with our local members at State and Federal level. Do you have our app yet?

The pace is picking up quickly at Home Base with 1000 visitors and over 4000 hours of use of the facility. Much more capacity yet given that we can open the doors and operate the security with an SMS! We were able to open the doors for the cool breeze last month and the gardens make the entire place a really relaxing place to be.

We have Townsville Community Law providing free legal consultation courtesy of a Queensland Government trial for veterans. The service is seeing more and more veteran community clients seeking free legal support from Home Base. Our Plans Support Team will provide the referrals in. Simple to complete the form with link on top of the Home Page and tick Legal Support.

The Grants Workshops were a great success, and we will hold more workshops to meet the demand. Any community group that has veterans as members looking to secure a grant and needing support to better understand how to achieve it, can come along. Keep an eye on What’s On for the dates posted soon.

On the Employment and Education front, we have been growing the Veterans Business Alliance and have held our first Briefing for the Advanced Manufacturing initiative. This education, skilling and employment opportunity was a collaboration with TAFE Q, Queensland Government and Defence Jobs Queensland. The briefing was well attended and the model was established to do more to bring resources together to benefit smoother transition of veterans into civilian employment.

The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide is coming to Townsville next month for two weeks commencing 20 June and the Commissioners are expected to visit The Oasis Townsville while in Townsville. We have a support and info session for anyone considering presenting to the Royal Commission while in Townsville. That’s on early in May, see the article in this ONtarget for the details.

Our Anniversary Open Day is on for 25 June so put that in the diary and come along to 1 Staging Camp Avenue with the family, or not, and see what we have been up to in the last 12 months. We are celebrating 1 year in our new facility, and it has developed considerably. And the three programs will be on showcase.

The Coffee and Banjo Breakfasts are proving a big hit. We’ve had both veterans from major parties campaigning in the Federal election visit the breakfast and have a coffee and banjo while talking to veterans both serving and ex-serving. Numbers grow each fortnight. Free coffee and Banjo. We’d love to see more.

The Oasis Smartphone App has had some significant upgrades. You can quickly reorder the last coffee or see What’s On or checkout some of the useful resources. We even showcase our supporters. Scroll down to the QR Codes and links.