Welcome to the SSAFA Forces Help - Cyprus Website There are three major elements to SSAFA Forces Help in Cyprus. The Professional Staff - In-Service:  The Professional Staff are established on each Station on the island to provide those facilities that would, in the UK, be provided for the families of service personnel by the local Social Services and the NHS. For this reason, there is a nursing service, providing Health Visitors and Midwives etc. There are Social Workers to provide support for families that are in difficulty. They also monitor such elements as crèches and have a monitoring system for child minders. Although the staff are paid for by SSAFA Forces Help, the funding comes from the MOD. The HQ of the Professional Staff in Cyprus is in Episkopi and consists of a General Manager and a small staff. The Service Committee:   The Branch The Branch has its HQ in the same group offices as the General Manager. While the Terms of Reference of the Branch do not preclude giving assistance to serving personnel and their families, generally speaking assistance from the Branch is given to personnel and their families who have completed their service. However, this does include many Cypriots who have given service to the Crown.                           It is expected that the Branch should be self-financing and thus obtaining money through various fund raising ventures is an ever present part of our work. Who we help Assistance from SSAFA Forces Help is available to relieve need, suffering and distress to the following groups of people: Members and former members of all ranks of all Branches of the Armed Forces of the Crown other than Reserve Forces, including the Nursing Services, and their wives, former wives, husbands, former husbands, families, widows, widowers, children and other dependants - Subject to having received One Day’s Pay. Members and former members of the Reserve Forces and their dependants - Subject to conditions. Members and former members of the Mercantile Marine and their dependants - Subject to conditions. British members of the Palestine Police Force who served in World War II and their dependants - Subject to conditions. Members and former members of the Association's Professional Nursing and Welfare Service - Subject to conditions. Citizens of the United Kingdom currently stationed overseas in Service establishments and having the status of being part of the Armed Forces - Subject to conditions. If you know of anyone who needs our help and meets the above criteria, please contact us. Registered Charity No. 210760 Est. 1885 Registered Charity (Scotland) No. SC038056   Although it is not mandatory, it is normal for each Station to have a Service Committee. Such   Committees are normally chaired by the wife of the Station Commander. They have a two-fold function. The first is to raise funds for the support of SSAFA. The second is to assist the Professional Staff in any way possible. This they do by fundraising, providing facilities such as a loan service for equipment which is bulky to carry about and /or is of use only for a limited time. Items such as car child seats, sewing machines are two items that can be borrowed for a small fee. An additional element is the Community Volunteers. These individuals, who are primarily dependants of service personnel, are trained to give assistance to less fortunate families of service personnel. While they are not paid for their work, their expenses come out of the fundraising budget. There is an overall Service Committee, chaired by the wife of the Commander British Forces, to which all the Service Committees on the island send a representative. In addition the Branch Chairman also attends.