If you’re aged 14 to 25-years-old and have been diagnosed with an incurable illness, the world can seem like a dark place. You’re certainly not a child anymore but you’re not quite ready to face the world of care as an adult. 

Through Zest we will create an environment for young adults and families to raise the money to be able to provide the services this group so desperately needs, but that we currently do not have the funds and facilities to deliver.  Zest will primarily focus on raising funds to help provide services for this young adult group. These include an ambition to provide regional short break care; giving this group the much needed break that they deserve to relish being themselves in an environment tailor made for them and, most importantly, spend that time with other young adults experiencing similar thoughts and emotions that they are encountering.  

While at St Elizabeth we are currently able to provide hospice care for anyone over the age of 14, and regularly do, many of our facilities are designed with older adults in mind. We recognise that a different approach is required in how we offer services and opportunities for these young adults and have now created ‘Zest’ to focus how we offer care, and grow support, for this age group going forward.   

Zest has been created with young adults in mind. We believe that there should be a tailor made service for young adults and a way for young people to support the hospice and its work in their own way. Zest will not only give a focus to our fundraising but also create an opportunity for other young adults to engage with the hospice. This can be done by shopping at our new Zest shops, donating relevant items for the shops or even volunteering for the many services we need to support our young patients.   

More information can be found on the Zest website here