Deck the Wards 2019
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The story behind ‘Deck the Wards’
A stay in psychiatric hospital is already a difficult time for children and young people. Over the holidays it’s even harder.
A psychiatric hospital can feel like a scary and unfamiliar place. During a mental health crisis, some young people may be too distressed to understand what is happening to them or why. Some young people choose to stay in hospital voluntarily and others may need to be ‘sectioned’ under the Mental Health Act.
Some of these children and young people get placed in hospitals far away from home, sometimes hundreds of miles across the country. This can be isolating and makes it harder for them to keep in contact with family and friends. This can be even harder during the holidays.
‘Deck the Wards’ supports four child and adolescent psychiatric wards in South East London. This amounts to 58 inpatient beds plus more places for day patients who come in Monday to Friday for treatment.
This Christmas the majority of those children and young people will spend a considerable amount of the Christmas holidays on the ward. Some young people will not be well enough to leave the ward at all during these times, and some may even be in hospital for Christmas itself.
This time can be especially difficult when you consider that, for most children ad young people, Christmas and the school holidays means spending time at home with loved ones; playing games, attending holiday events such as Christmas markets and just enjoying the free time away from school.
Katie Bambury, Co-Founder of Deck the Wards, spent holidays on the ward as a teenager:
‘Spending time in hospital over the festive period was really hard. All the education is stopped, in line with school holidays, and that means long empty periods of time stuck on the wards. The extra unoccupied time in the days makes it easier to focus on all the difficult stuff that’s happening and on what you’re going through. It’s hard not to feel left behind when you know your friends and family are getting to spend time together and enjoy the festivities.
When you have a mental health problem it can feel like the world forgets you. With ‘Deck the Wards’ we work to make sure children and young people on psychiatric wards aren’t forgotten. Last Christmas we were able to smash our target and raise an amazing amount of money, which meant we were able to reach out to four wards and deliver them every item the children and young people asked for. We’re working with those 4 wards again this year and we can’t wait to deliver the Christmas boxes and make this Christmas a little less hard for the children and young people on the wards.’
What we need from you
We want to make hospital feel a little bit less like hospital and a little bit easier.
With your help we'll provide four local child and adolescent psychiatric wards with the home comforts and small ‘luxuries’ that can help brighten the holidays. We'll ask the children and young people themselves what might make it easier for them to be in hospital - games, toys, treats etc. When you’re scared, bored or lonely, it’s these things that can really make a difference.
We aim to raise as much money as possible to fulfil these Christmas lists for each of the wards. Last year we were able to provide items such as books, games, Christmas decorations and treats, luxury toiletries and much more. This year we hope we’ll be able to provide all this and anything else we can get our hands on to make this Christmas feel special.
If we are lucky enough to raise more than our target of £1215 we will use the excess to reach out to more wards and include as many children and young people as we can.
We are extremely grateful for any and all help you are able to give us this Christmas, and we're sure the young people on the ward will be too.
What’s next for ‘Deck the Wards’
This crowdfunding campaign marks the 1 year anniversary of ‘Deck the Wards’. Over the past year we have been able to support 4 local wards over the Christmas, Easter and Summer holidays with the help and generosity of everyone who has donated time or money to us. It is our hope that over time ‘Deck the Wards’ will continue to grow and as we grow we will be able to reach out to more wards.
We are currently in the process of registering ‘Deck the Wards’ with the Charities Commission. In the meantime, although we are still an unregistered charity we are dedicated to fundraising responsibly and in line with the principles and guidance of The Code of Fundraising Practice as published by the Institute of Fundraising.
To find out more about 'Deck the Wards' and what we've been up to over the last year check out our website www.deckthewards.co.uk or our twitter @deckthewards or our instagram @deck_the_wards
A stay in psychiatric hospital is already a difficult time for children and young people. Over the holidays it’s even harder.
A psychiatric hospital can feel like a scary and unfamiliar place. During a mental health crisis, some young people may be too distressed to understand what is happening to them or why. Some young people choose to stay in hospital voluntarily and others may need to be ‘sectioned’ under the Mental Health Act.
Some of these children and young people get placed in hospitals far away from home, sometimes hundreds of miles across the country. This can be isolating and makes it harder for them to keep in contact with family and friends. This can be even harder during the holidays.
‘Deck the Wards’ supports four child and adolescent psychiatric wards in South East London. This amounts to 58 inpatient beds plus more places for day patients who come in Monday to Friday for treatment.
This Christmas the majority of those children and young people will spend a considerable amount of the Christmas holidays on the ward. Some young people will not be well enough to leave the ward at all during these times, and some may even be in hospital for Christmas itself.
This time can be especially difficult when you consider that, for most children ad young people, Christmas and the school holidays means spending time at home with loved ones; playing games, attending holiday events such as Christmas markets and just enjoying the free time away from school.
Katie Bambury, Co-Founder of Deck the Wards, spent holidays on the ward as a teenager:
‘Spending time in hospital over the festive period was really hard. All the education is stopped, in line with school holidays, and that means long empty periods of time stuck on the wards. The extra unoccupied time in the days makes it easier to focus on all the difficult stuff that’s happening and on what you’re going through. It’s hard not to feel left behind when you know your friends and family are getting to spend time together and enjoy the festivities.
When you have a mental health problem it can feel like the world forgets you. With ‘Deck the Wards’ we work to make sure children and young people on psychiatric wards aren’t forgotten. Last Christmas we were able to smash our target and raise an amazing amount of money, which meant we were able to reach out to four wards and deliver them every item the children and young people asked for. We’re working with those 4 wards again this year and we can’t wait to deliver the Christmas boxes and make this Christmas a little less hard for the children and young people on the wards.’
What we need from you
We want to make hospital feel a little bit less like hospital and a little bit easier.
With your help we'll provide four local child and adolescent psychiatric wards with the home comforts and small ‘luxuries’ that can help brighten the holidays. We'll ask the children and young people themselves what might make it easier for them to be in hospital - games, toys, treats etc. When you’re scared, bored or lonely, it’s these things that can really make a difference.
We aim to raise as much money as possible to fulfil these Christmas lists for each of the wards. Last year we were able to provide items such as books, games, Christmas decorations and treats, luxury toiletries and much more. This year we hope we’ll be able to provide all this and anything else we can get our hands on to make this Christmas feel special.
If we are lucky enough to raise more than our target of £1215 we will use the excess to reach out to more wards and include as many children and young people as we can.
We are extremely grateful for any and all help you are able to give us this Christmas, and we're sure the young people on the ward will be too.
What’s next for ‘Deck the Wards’
This crowdfunding campaign marks the 1 year anniversary of ‘Deck the Wards’. Over the past year we have been able to support 4 local wards over the Christmas, Easter and Summer holidays with the help and generosity of everyone who has donated time or money to us. It is our hope that over time ‘Deck the Wards’ will continue to grow and as we grow we will be able to reach out to more wards.
We are currently in the process of registering ‘Deck the Wards’ with the Charities Commission. In the meantime, although we are still an unregistered charity we are dedicated to fundraising responsibly and in line with the principles and guidance of The Code of Fundraising Practice as published by the Institute of Fundraising.
To find out more about 'Deck the Wards' and what we've been up to over the last year check out our website www.deckthewards.co.uk or our twitter @deckthewards or our instagram @deck_the_wards
Organizer
Jasmine Leng
Organizer