The Transition Awards Programme is aimed at 14- 25 year olds, and has been created to bridge the gap between children’s and adult services, providing much needed support to young people with life-limiting conditions. It will give funding to organisations that help with their essential needs, from healthcare to housing.
The programme, which launched earlier this month, is now open for applications from UK hospices, NHS trusts, social enterprises, voluntary sector organisations, and organisations that provide elements that are integral to young people’s needs such as healthcare, social care, education, employment and housing.
Applications from partnerships working between different services and groups are particularly welcome. The awards will be between £40k – £150k for up to 30 months.
Together for Short Lives is a charity that supports young people with life-shortening conditions, as well as helping families come to terms with the fact that their child will die before them.
One in every 270 children has a life-shortening or life-threatening condition, which is the equivalent of one child in every school in the UK. These numbers are on the increase because of advances in medicine, but this progress isn’t being replicated in services to care for them.
Funding is unpredictable – a 2015 survey by Together for Short Lives and Hospice UK found that, while Clinical Commissioning Groups fund around 30 per cent of the cost of care to adult hospices, children’s hospices only receive 10 per cent. Additionally over half of children’s hospices had their budgets cut or frozen between 2013 and 2015.
The Transition Awards Programme is hosting an information call tomorrow – Wednesday 22 February from 10:30am to 11.30am where you can find out more about the programme and ask questions. You can find out more and register here.
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