The House of Teens Unite will facilitate our one-day activities, along with three-night, residential stays, for young people fighting cancer. For the past 14 years, this support has proven to have a positive social and emotional impact on their recovery.
The House will welcome those aged 13-24, who are all at different stages of their cancer battle. Whether a young person has recently been diagnosed, is undergoing treatment, years into remission or living with a terminal diagnosis, they will be supported.
We are not providers of medical care, nor are we doctors or nurses, instead the retreat will focus on providing valuable opportunities on a regular basis, which help young people to take the next steps towards rebuilding their lives or at the very least, live positively with their diagnosis.
The plans for The House of Teens Unite, incorporate different areas to host a range of activities to suit the needs and abilities of the young people and improve their emotional, social and physical wellbeing:
Creative activities are accessible to all and are a way of expressing thoughts and feelings in a way they haven’t been able to before. It will be a flexible workspace to allow the young people to both create individual pieces as well as coming together to create joint work.
Almost 80% of young people diagnosed with cancer worry about the impact it will have on their future employment. Within this space, young people will benefit from spending time with life coaches, business mentors and motivational speakers to gain confidence and to look towards a future beyond their illness, learning new skills and achieve their personal goals and aspirations.
A dedicated space for the continued delivery of our digital activities that have been introduced since COVID—19, thus enabling our support to be regularly accessed by any young person, from home or in hospital, even if they are too unwell to travel to the House.
80% of young people diagnosed with cancer experience anxiety and depression. For some people with cancer, yoga calms their mind, for others, it can improve side effects such as pain, tiredness, sleep problems, depression as well as aiding recovery following surgery. Professional instructors will hold sessions within the house, tailored to suit the abilities of the individual.
We’re focused on helping young people regain their independence at a time when it can feel like it’s been taken away. An area will be developed within the main kitchen, where key culinary skills can be learnt for a healthy and independent lifestyle.
A space where the young people can benefit from some rest and relaxation and be pampered from head to toe by professional nail technicians, beauty therapists, massage therapists and reflexologists. Often a young person experiences a lot of physical changes because of their treatment and we’ll use this space to encourage them to feel confident about their body image and regain their self-esteem even outside of a Teens Unite environment.
This will be a sociable space, where young people can relax with others their age, without any questions or judgement and build friendships in a way they may not feel comfortable doing in an environment outside of Teens Unite.
83% of young people diagnosed with cancer experience loneliness. At the heart of the home, the communal lounge is central in achieving our mission of bringing young people fighting cancer together.
The house will be set in seven acres of land, with trees around the site to ensure a level of privacy. The landscape will provide plenty of beautiful outdoor space to socialise and relax, which for many
young people they don’t have access to at home. We will hold garden games and activities to make the most of being nestled in the Hertfordshire countryside.
