Seven Lords a leaping

11:13am Monday 20th October 2008

THE seven Lord Lieutenants from across the central south of England have attended a special ceremony at children's hospice Naomi House. They were laying the foundation stone for jacksplace@naomihouse, the new hospice for young people.

jacksplace is currently under construction on a site next to Naomi House, near Winchester, which cares for children from across Wiltshire suffering from life limiting conditions.

The ceremony, a repeat of the one that took place for Naomi House 12 years ago, affirmsed the importance of the hospice to all the communities across the seven counties of Wiltshire, Hampshire, Berkshire, Isle of Wight, Dorset, Surrey and West Sussex. jacksplace will be only the fourth hospice for young adults in the country.

John Bush, Her Majesty's Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire said: “Naomi House offers significant support to families with life-limited children from Wiltshire as the children’s hospice for Wiltshire.

"Many of the children are now living to become young adults, and the environment they need is different to that offered at Naomi House. jacksplace does that.

"For youngsters over the age of 14, the new hospice will provide support that is appropriate to their specific needs.

"I am delighted to be a part of the ceremony today, laying this foundation stone marks my official involvement in the development of the new hospice and the importance of jacksplace to the children from Wiltshire. I hope that the people from across the county will give the project their wholehearted support.”

jacksplace will be a homely place where young people, who will not live to become adults, can enjoy facilities and an environment that gives them independence.

The young people have been involved in its design from the start; they have been able to influence the layout of the building, the equipment that will be available and the range of activities that take place.

From cinema rooms to specialist bathroom facilities and extra large living areas, the new hospice will encapsulate their ideas in one very special building.

The construction programme will be complete in about a year from now and the first young people will be able to visit jacksplace before Christmas 2009.

Khalid Aziz, Chairman of Wessex Children’s Hospice Trust, added: “By this time next year, we should be just about finishing the fit out of the building.

"We will have spent a lot of money not only on the building but on hoists, special baths, automatic door and window openers. "This is all to give our young people dignity and independence.

"We face increased running costs, which is why our appeal is for £12 million, to build equip and run jacksplace.

"We are getting support from far and wide and we appreciate the jar of coppers from a child just as much as the wonderful corporate and trust grants we have received.

"We have now raised £9 million towards our target, so there is only £3 million to go.

"That is of course if we get back our £5.7 million frozen in the Icelandic wastes. "The last thing we want to have to do is raise our target from £12 to £18 million."

Find out how you can help make jacksplace a reality - call the fundraising team on 01962 843 513 or visit www.naomihouse.org.uk.