Rainbow Trust Closes Respite Houses
Today we announce a strategic move which will allow Rainbow to offer increased support to more families with children who have a terminal or life threatening illness, directly in their home and in the community. We plan to close our two respite houses; Rainbow Fernstone in Northumberland and Rainbow House in Surrey at the end of the year.
Heather Wood, Chief Executive of Rainbow Trust, comments;“We are very proud of the work that has happened in our two houses over many years and our Trustees have made this decision to ensure we offer practical support to as many families as possible. We know that there is more demand for our services than we are currently able to meet.”
She continues; “Helping families who have children with a terminal or life threatening illness will remain our core focus. The decision to close our two houses will mean we can add an additional 16 Family Support Workers including a new team in North West London and extra Family Support Workers in all our care teams based in the North. By the end of 2012, the charity will be reaching an extra 300 families who currently do not have access to our support.”
Bernadette Cleary, the founder of Rainbow Trust has lent her firm backing to the move;“The Trustees of Rainbow Trust have made this difficult decision to ensure the charity can offer as much help to families with seriously ill children as possible in the future. The impact of having a child with a life threatening or terminal illness is devastating for a family, and the need for emotional and practical support provided in the family home or at hospital sadly outstrips availability. Our experience over the last 23 years shows that families get more benefits from support in their own home.”
“I therefore fully support Rainbow Trust’s decision and, as always, wish all those involved the very best for the future. I’d also like to offer my heartfelt thanks to everyone who continues to support the charity. The hard work of its staff and volunteers really does make an enormous difference, and it is vital these services are available to as many people as possible.”
The two houses are likely to be closed by the end of 2009. Proceeds from the sale of the properties will go towards support for families with seriously or terminally ill children. Existing bookings at the two houses will be honoured until the end of 2009.
If you are a family and would like to discuss this change or if you have any concerns, please contact either your Family Support Worker or local Care Team. If you need to find out the contact details of your Care Team, please telephone Andrea Heffernan on 01372 220073.
