Hannah's House

Hannah's House is a registered not for profit organisation dedicated to providing services that improve the quality of life for all Western Australian children with life-limiting conditions and their families. There is a widely acknowledged gap in the provision of children's respite services in WA. Although a child might receive a life-limiting dia... gnosis, their journey could span weeks, months or even years. This often results in a great stress on families for a sustained period of time and impacts their resources, relationships and wellbeing. Hannah's House plays an important role in helping maintain the quality of life for seriously ill children within their own home and fostering healthy family relationships for parents and siblings. Hannah's House is the vision of Martin Watson and Jacky Vigurs, whose daughter Hannah was born with Opitz Trigonocephaly and was not expected to survive beyond her first birthday. Hannah passed away in 2000 at age 19, with Martin and Jacky her lifelong caregivers. After a holiday to the UK introduced them to the children's hospice model of providing support and respite to families caring for a child with life-limiting conditions, Martin and Jacky have been committed to seeing a facility of this kind opened in Perth and available to all Western Australian families. Hannah's House is in the first stage of realising this vision by providing in-home respite care and support through a dedicated team of registered nurses. Our ultimate goal is a purpose-built hospice based on a 'home away from home' concept. It will provide holistic care focusing on the emotional, social and physical needs of the child and family, starting from diagnosis and continuing throughout the child's life. Hannah's House complements and is supported by a range of existing services in WA. We are helping fill a significant, unmet need for essential respite and other out of hospital support for families caring for children with life-limiting conditions. The Children's Hospice Association (INC) was established in ...Read More