As one of only two specialist children's cancer centres in Yorkshire, urgent travel to Leeds Children’s Hospital for treatment may be necessary. We understand that this can be disruptive and place a financial strain on families, adding to their worries with costs like petrol and parking. In emergencies, Candlelighters can support your family by providing free accommodation close to the hospital.
The Cottage
In 2018 we opened The Candlelighters Cottage, a home-from-home accommodation just a short walk from Leeds Children's Hospital providing emergency accommodation for our families. It has space to house four families with a child receiving inpatient treatment for cancer for up to eight weeks.
Each bedroom has a private bathroom and there's a shared living room, kitchen-dining area and garden. Just like our support centre, The Square, The Cottage has a welcoming, homely feel. Families can rest, recharge, and use the facilities to cook meals and do laundry.
Parents, carers and siblings can stay at The Cottage, helping to keep the family unit together during challenging times.
As we live an hour away from the hospital, we wanted to be as close to Albie as possible. Candlelighters offered us accommodation in The Cottage. It was lovely to have a warm and inviting room to go back to after a long day in the hospital. It allowed us to be near our child during a huge surgery and meant that I no longer felt torn between my two children as I could be there for both of them when staying in The Cottage.
Georgia, Mum to Albie
Eckersley House
Eckersley House is another home-from-home accommodation located directly opposite Leeds Children's Hospital, run by The Sick Children’s Trust. With room for 23 families, it supports children receiving treatment for various conditions, not just cancer.
Candlelighters has provided funding to Eckersley House for over 30 years, working closely with their team to ensure the provision of this vital service for the families we support. As there might be times The Cottage is fully booked, we continue to provide funding to Eckersley House to ensure our families always have somewhere to stay.
How to request accommodation
We work closely with the hospital and Eckersley House to provide rooms to families that need them. To request accommodation, speak to our Family Support Workers or call Eckersley House on 0113 392 6505. All accommodation requests will go through Eckersley House to ensure demand can be managed appropriately. Please note, accommodation can only be requested on the day it is needed and cannot be pre-booked in advance.
Our friendly family support team are on hand to help. Get in touch by phone or email.