A youth hub for young people living with cancer in the Hunter Valley has opened in Newcastle.
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CanTeen opened the facility with a $47,500 grant from the Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation.
The hub will provide a multifunctional and flexible learning, therapeutic and recreational space for 12 to 24-year-olds dealing with their own cancer or cancer in their family.
“Every year, 600 young people in the Hunter Region have their world turned upside down by cancer,” CanTeen CEO Peter Orchard said.
“Dealing with cancer often leaves young people feeling isolated and alone, which is why it’s so important for CanTeen to provide access to support services and youth specific spaces where they can connect with others their own age in similar situations.”
The new space in Kotara gives young people living with cancer a safe place to get away from the stresses of cancer that typically dominate at home.
“The hub will help CanTeen deliver quality services needed to address health, wellbeing and social inequalities experienced by young people living with cancer in the region, regardless of how remote they are,” he said.
It will provide peer support programs, education and face-to-face counselling and technology to allow young people to connect with CanTeen’s Online Support Platform, a service providing seven-day access to professional CanTeen counsellors and
24/7 access to information and online community.
CanTeen also wants the space to be used for collaborative projects with other cancer services.