WESTCLIFF: Children’s charity in national final

A children’s charity – based in Westcliff -  is celebrating after being shortlisted for a national award.

Little Havens Children’s Hospice on Second Avenue has been nominated for the National Lottery Best Voluntary/Charity project for 2010.

The Awards are an annual search to find the UK’s favourite Lottery-funded projects. Lottery players raise £25 million each week for projects all across the UK and the Awards are a way to highlight how that funding has changed Britain for the better.

Last year the hospice received £650,000 in lottery funding, helping the charity to continue and improve lives for children with life-limiting illnesses.

The hospice provides respite breaks, symptom control and end-of-life care to ill children and teenagers  and those who are not expected to reach adulthood. The care these children receive is free of charge and tailored to the child, making the service a lifeline for families in the area.

The Lottery grant helped to fund nursing care, paying the salaries of eight full-time nurses for three years. Thanks to the grant, the hospice was able to offer 24-hour nursing care, complementary, music and play therapies, sibling support services and holistic family support.  The funding demonstrated how vital the work of the hospice was, helping it get off the ground to where it is today.

“We don’t only meet the child’s medical needs,” explains Head of Care, Lauren Summers.

“We also meet all spiritual and holistic needs. It’s about quality of life rather than length. We put a lot of emphasis on fun. The children can decide what to do for fun, from having a Rossi ice cream on the seafront to watching DVDs or expressing themselves through messy play therapy or arts and crafts.

Other family members also get support, with complementary therapy available to anyone who needs it. The hospice also provides bereavement services to grieving parents and siblings.

“We care for the whole family, not just the ill children,” says Lauren.

“We become like a second family to them. There is nowhere else like Little Havens in Essex. We still have families whose children died 11 years ago visiting us for support.”

Callum Miller is four years old and suffers from a range of conditions including seizures, cerebral palsy and swallowing problems. He and his mother Jane and older brother Connor visit Little Havens regularly.

Jane says it is a lifeline for the family: “Callum is spoiled rotten and the whole family is involved. Little Havens is a place you don’t ever think you’ll need, but I can’t picture my life without it now. We rely on it. What it means to us can’t be measured.”

If you’d like to vote for Havens Children’s Hospice CLICK HERE

Voting closes at midday on 13 August.

The project that receives the most votes will be the winner, and the results will be revealed on a special Awards event broadcast on BBC One later this year.