The Mayor of Haringey, Councillor Al Gul Ozbek, visited Haven House Children’s Hospice on Monday 7 June and praised the charity for giving “priceless” help to local-limited children and their families.

He received a tour of the hospice and Holistic Care Centre and met with children and staff. The Mayor spoke of his admiration for Haven House and said he was “amazed” by the support it provided to families in the London Borough of Haringey.

Along with respite services delivered from its hospice building in Woodford Green, Haven House provides a Toy Home Loan service where parents in Haringey can access specialist toys for children with complex medical needs and life-limiting conditions.

During his visit, Mayor Ozbek was informed by Chief Executive Mike Palfreman about Vision 2020, Haven House’s five-year strategy which aims to increase the number of children that it supports in North and North East London, West Essex and East Hertfordshire to 500 per year by the end of the decade.

Supporting more children will mean it will cost £5 million a year to run the hospice by 2020. The charity receives around a quarter of its funding from the Government - the rest it has to raise itself.

Mayor Ozbek said: “I am so impressed with Haven House. It gives priceless help to families and I would appeal for groups and individuals in the London Borough of Haringey to support its vital work.  

“I am amazed by the expertise of Haven House staff in providing exceptional care. With such a welcoming environment, this charity truly is a real haven for children and their families.”

Mike Palfreman, Chief Executive of Haven House, said: “We are very grateful to Mayor Ozebek for visiting the hospice and meeting with our children and staff.

“The Mayor spent considerable time learning about the full range of services that we offer for life-limited children and our plans for expansion as part of Vision 2020.  

“We hope residents in the London Borough of Haringey take on the Mayor’s call to get involved with Haven House and support our work.”  

If you are in North London and would like to support Haven House through an event please contact Lindy Hunt in our North London fundraising team. Email [email protected] or call 0208 506 3630.

Read the story of Joe and his mum, Anna, one of our Haringey families.