Through the Rainbow Project, Tynedale Hospice at Home offers emotional and spiritual support to children and families who are experiencing the life-limiting illness of a loved one and those who have been bereaved.
The provision of further funding will allow the hospice to expand and continue to develop these services.
When the hospice launched a pilot of the Rainbow Project in 2009, it little realised what an untapped need there was for the service within Tynedale. However, demand increased so quickly that the value of the project was recognised by the Big Lottery Fund – which has supported the service over the past three years.
By the end of 2013, through the work with bereaved children and their families, the hospice identified the need to offer a family support service to those in need of emotional or spiritual support during the illness of a loved one.
A pilot of this service, funded by the hospice, began in January 2014. The uptake, and the effect that it has on families, has been very positive and the hospice is delighted that it can now grow the service to reach more children and families that need help and support.
The family support and bereavement services offer one-to-one support to children and families, either in their own homes or in the Rainbow Room at 3 Wentworth Place. Specially trained practitioners and volunteers work with children and families either on a one-to-one basis or in groups, often using arts and crafts to work through their emotions and manage their grief.
The lottery funding will enable the hospice to continue to run bereavement workshops and after-school clubs to help children make sense of what has happened to them.
As the hospice has also seen demand for its nursing care services increase by 51%, the need for further funding for the Rainbow Project following the end of the initial funding period was crucial. This second grant, which is ring-fenced for the Rainbow Project and cannot be used for any other services, will enable the hospice to expand the scope of the service and meet the ever-increasing needs of local families.
Michael Jackson, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Tynedale Hospice at Home, said: “Since the Rainbow Project first started, the hospice has had the privilege of working with many bereaved families in our area and, through the pilot family support project, we have realised the importance of extending that support to families who are experiencing the life-limiting illness and death of a loved one.
“Being able to make sense of what is happening around them can make all the difference to children and their families so that they are better prepared for what lies ahead.
“The Board is most grateful to the BIG Lottery Fund for awarding us a further grant which will enable us to continue with the work of the Rainbow Project.”
Find out more about The Rainbow Project on the Tynedale Hospice at Home website.
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