Young Lives vs Cancer

We help families find the strength to face everything cancer throws at them. We’ve been there before. We’ll face it all, together.

At a time when they should be busy being children, enjoying their rollercoaster teenage years or finding their feet at uni, life becomes full of fear. Fear of treatment, but also of families being torn apart, of overwhelming money worries, mental health stretched to breaking point, of having nowhere to turn, no one to talk to.

At Young Lives vs Cancer, we get that. We are the charity that helps children and young people (0-25) and their families find the strength to face whatever cancer throws at them.

We know everyone is different, so we work hard to make sure each family has what they need to get through cancer. It could be a financial grant for a parent struggling to keep their child warm through their treatment or for a young person who can’t afford to get to hospital. Or helping a family stay together at one of our free Homes from Home close to the hospital where their child is having treatment. In Northern Ireland we have 2 Home from Homes; Paul’s House which is a ‘slipper walk’ away from The Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children and Amy’s House which is a short walk from The Belfast City Hospital.

In addition, if we think families are not being heard by the whole system, we’re not afraid to raise their voices or shout on their behalf. Children and young people with cancer deserve the same opportunities as anyone else. We’ll always have their back, because we’ve been there before.

Powered by the kindness of our supporters, we’ll face it all together. 

The Six Ways We Help:

We know everyone is different, so we work hard to help when each child and young person needs it most. We shape the work we do around six core principles: 

1) Mental Health

2) Financial Fears

3) Being Away From Home

4) Future Fears

5) When a Child Dies

6) Making Change Happen

Families have to travel from across Northern Ireland to access specialist treatment at the The Belfast City Hospital and the The Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. On average, Families have to make a 90 mile round trip each time they have a hospital appointment. This travel is not only mentally exhausting, it is expensive too.

Families must pay for travel, parking, food and accommodation costs at a time when they are living on reduced income. Often because parents have had to reduce their working hours or give up work completely so they can be by their child’s side. From research we carried out, parents spend an extra £600 a month extra on average during their child’s cancer treatment.

Both homes have been a haven for many families from Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh and Londonderry over the last 12 months providing vital support to them at the time they need it most.

Paul’s House

Located just a “slipper’s walk” from the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, has hosted a total of 53 family stays (this includes families staying on more than one occasion)

• The longest stay at Paul’s House was 141 days
• The average stay was 23 days – The families saved £2,070 in accommodation costs based on £90p.n.
• We hosted 14 families.*
• *figures based on 2020/21 during Covid Pandemic

Visit us at  www.younglivesvscancer.org.uk for more information.

Or go to our facebook page at facebook.com/YoungLivesvsCancerNorthernIrelandFundraising

Registered Charity 1107328