Together for Short Lives

Who we are

Our vision is to ensure that the 99,000 children and young people with life-shortening conditions in the UK have lives that are as fulfilling as possible.

We work with families and the brilliant people and services that support them – in hospitals, in children’s hospices and in the community – to ensure that children and families get the support they need.

The truth is that because of inconsistency in the planning and funding for these services over many years, the support that these families receive depends significantly on where they live and how well they can advocate for themselves. And much of the care they rely on is funded by generous voluntary donations from the public. This may be exacerbated as we see the full impact of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.

Too many of these families are isolated and alone as they do not know where to go to for support. Prevalence of life-limiting conditions is highest in the under ones, in areas of higher deprivation and in Black and minority ethnic communities. Together for Short Lives needs to invest in innovative strategies and technical solutions to help reach these families and to grow and develop support to make sure they get the help they need.

Our culture and values

Together for Short Lives’ purpose is to ensure that every seriously ill child, and their family, has high quality children’s palliative and end of life care, when and where they need it. That’s what drives us to do the work we do.

To help us achieve our goals we have developed a set of Values and Behaviours which are the cornerstone of how we deliver all of our work and activity:

• We put children and families at the heart of everything we do.
• We are ambitious about improving the lives of children and families and stand up for what we believe in.
• We are collaborative and bring people together to deliver the biggest impact.
• We are inclusive and open to new and different views, approaches and experiences.