Simply donate €5 or whatever you can and send a picture of you and your furbaby in your Christmas best on the day or post them to Insta stories remembering to tag #furbabyssantastroll and @oneinfourirish

Keep an eye on our social media pages to join in on our Christmas prep challenges and enter our giveaways to win some pawesome prizes 

If you would like to arrange a local fundraiser to host a socially distanced Santa stroll locally pls DM FurbabysIreland for support

One in Four are close to my heart as every Wednesday night, for several years, I would begin planning my excuse for not going, then somehow Thursday morning, on autopilot, I would step off the train, walk to One in Four make my cup of tea and wait. Years of flashbacks and body memories and having to hold it together so others aren’t uncomfortable, nightmares and whispers, and my safe space where I could let it all go. I never thought I would survive the pain and many times I didn’t want to, but each week I would promise my counsellor as I left that I would see her again. One in Four helped me to find my voice. I felt heard, validated, never judged or questioned, always safe and like I mattered for the first time in my life. Each week I left my rawness behind those doors and picked up the pieces on the way home telling myself that I’m one step closer to being free. I get to live my life, free from pain, shame and guilt that was never mine to own. I get to enjoy and love my life free from what happened to me, looking back I never thought that would have been possible. My counsellor held my secrets so I no longer had to and I’m forever grateful for the support that I received from One in Four throughout the legal process.

Survivors need support now more than ever. Feeling like you’re the only person experiencing this is isolating in itself, but being physically isolated due to lockdown, with too much time to think and no where to run to get away from intrusive, relentless memories; One in Four need our support so that survivors can be heard and free from the pain that consumes every second of every day.
I am a survivor and I want to give back so other survivors no longer feel like victims.

Louise Byrne