stories from the den

Every area of Tyˆ Hafan could be featured in the “Stories from…” section, but our teenagers’ area (or the Den) could fill a whole issue of Cwtch by itself. If these walls could talk!

Independence is something we all take for granted; although perhaps the last 12 months of lockdown have made us all realise quite how precious our independence really is. For the young adults and teenagers who use Tyˆ Hafan, issues around their ability to be independent, are nothing new as many of the services and facilities designed for their age group often aren’t suitable for young people who have more complex needs. Our founder, Suzanne Goodall felt passionately about this and requested that her final gift to Tyˆ Hafan be put towards providing continued support for dedicated teenage services.

The Den is a very important part of the hospice. It’s a place where teens can spend time being teens, somewhere they can go to escape from parents or younger children and be themselves. They can spend time with others of their age in a relaxed environment tailored to their needs. The Den allows visitors to just hang out, whether that’s with other Tyˆ Hafan teens, siblings, friends or sometimes even the odd famous face! Tomas Martin remembers taking on the late Peter Whittingham who played midfield for Cardiff City, at FIFA on the PlayStation while his teammates watched on. Sadly, Tomas can’t remember who won the game (too modest perhaps), but he always loved spending time in the Den, saying: “It’s a great place for me and my friends to hang out, past and present.” Twenty six year old Amy Claire Davies has fond memories of the Den. She wants to make sure that it continues to be an important part of Tyˆ Hafan for the next generation. “I used Tyˆ Hafan all the way through my teenage years and they were absolutely amazing. Completely invaluable and irreplaceable, not just for me as a palliative young person, but for my family and friends too. “Tyˆ Hafan is currently having a big renovation and we need to make the Den a really awesome place. Now admittedly, there probably will be some disagreements on decoration. When I was there, there used to be a lot of stuff like moving posters around because the boys didn’t want Twilight and I didn’t want Megan Fox, but, you know, we worked it out in the end! “The Den is such a big part of Tyˆ Hafan and we need to make sure it’s a really amazing place for all the teenagers and young people that will come after me and my friends.”

An anonymous Tyˆ Hafan teen said: “I love the Den at Tyˆ Hafan, it’s somewhere I can just go and hang out, play console games and pretend I am just like any other teenager with no medical equipment surrounding me or well-meaning carers (or mum!) checking on me all the time. I can just be! Sometimes that’s the most powerful feeling and that is what the Den gives me.”