East London Children's Community Hospice

London, Greater London, United Kingdom

£495

raised so far

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This project successfully funded on 12th March 2026, you can still support them with a donation.

Aim

Set up a front door: phone line & parent outreach so families get support from diagnosis to bereavement for complex needs.


Protest to Provision: a Front Door for families being left alone

When Richard House Children’s Hospice closed, families caring for seriously ill and disabled children across North East London were left without a reliable pathway, without continuity, and without a single place to turn.

Out of that crisis, East London Children’s Community Hospice (ELCCH) CIC was formed — a community-led project turning protest into practical provision. The aim is simple and urgent: create a “Front Door” service that families can actually reach, and build a credible foundation for longer-term partnership and commissioned provision.

Why ELCCH exists

ELCCH was founded by Kareema Motala and Paul Richards, supported by a growing group of families and allies.

  • Kareema Motala is a mum and full-time carer from East London. She trained as a barrister and was called to the Bar in October 2025. She is non-practising. Kareema’s motivation is personal and immediate: her son Jayden Crossfield lives with Lowe syndrome, a life-limiting condition, and her family has lived the reality of navigating complex care without a consistent route.
  • Paul Richards is a former CEO of Richard House Children’s Hospice and a bereaved parent. He brings deep operational insight into what families need, what hospice pathways are supposed to do, and what is lost when those routes collapse.

Together, they are building ELCCH as a practical bridge: support now, and a pathway toward sustainable provision through partnership, system coordination, and future commissioning.

The truth the closure exposed: this is not a “small cohort”

What has become clear since the closure is stark: this is not about a handful of children.

Across North East London, there are thousands of children living with complex medical needs, significant disability, and life-limiting conditions. Many families are experiencing unmet need — support not in place, delays, confusion, and the same story repeated to multiple agencies.

Families who don’t speak English fluently are often hit hardest. When a child is non-verbal, deteriorating, or newly diagnosed, being told to “call around” is not a system — it is a safeguarding-grade failure by design.

What ELCCH is building: the “Front Door”

This Crowdfunder funds a single point of access for families caring for children with complex and/or life-limiting needs:

  • one phone number
  • one inbox
  • one triage and navigation pathway
  • one place where parents are heard, supported and connected to the right help — fast

ELCCH is not replacing NHS or Local Authority duties. It is building the missing connector that stops families falling through gaps while long-term commissioning and provision catch up.

Who this is for

ELCCH’s Front Door is for families whose children are:

  • living with complex disability and medical fragility
  • newly diagnosed and overwhelmed
  • experiencing repeated crises and hospital admissions
  • approaching end of life, or in bereavement
  • struggling to access respite/short breaks, specialist nursing, equipment or care packages
  • navigating



Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made


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