It's more than just a vision, it's a necessity.
A cancer diagnosis impacts every aspect of a young person’s life. Their work, education, health and friendships are all affected long-term. Not only are they fighting for their lives, but 79% of young people diagnosed with cancer feel that it has a serious impact on their emotional wellbeing. This often leads to loneliness, isolation, and feeling segregated from society.
91% of young people that have joined our activities, recorded an improvement in their mental health. This is why we need a dedicated facility, so that more teenagers and young adults can benefit from our support.
For many young people, we are their only form of ongoing support, which continues even when they are in remission and their medical and social support has come to an end. This is often an incredibly daunting time as there is an expectation to simply return to 'normal', yet the world they once knew has been turned upside down. We provide them with the support needed to start rebuilding their lives, or at the very least, live with their diagnosis in the best possible way.
With our support so unique, we are experiencing a significant increase in registrations from young people year on year. Yet, without a dedicated base to host our activities and residential stays, we have reached capacity for the support we can provide that has proven so beneficial to their recovery.
Our residential stays demonstrate the added benefits of staying away from home. For some young people, making the return journey for our one-day activities is impossible due to the impact cancer has caused to their health. The House of Teens Unite will provide overnight accommodation and areas to relax, making our support more accessible to all who need it, on a more regular basis.
It will be a much-needed safe space, where young people can confide in others who are facing similar cancer battles, as so many of them hide their emotional pain and fear from loved ones; with feelings of guilt overriding their own mental health and wellbeing; making the long road to recovery even harder.
