What's your role at Julia's House, when and why did you join?
I joined Julia’s House two years ago, February 2024. I was aware of the care they provided as a number of years ago a friend of a friend’s daughter was cared for at the hospice in Wiltshire. I’d looked at the role before and heard about their wonderful work, but my children were smaller and I felt it wasn’t right for me. But as my youngest child reached 8 years old, I thought now is the right time for me, I’m in the right headspace.
I’d spent years trying to find a job that I really enjoyed. I’ve done lots of different things but was really struggling with finding a purpose in my job - doing something good was missing for me. Now I feel totally fulfilled at Julia’s House. It's definitely the best thing I've ever done. I’ve surprised myself as I'm quite an emotional person and I can be a bit of a clown but working here with the children and families just brings something extra out of you.
What's your career background? How is your role at Julia's House supporting/furthering your skills and experience?
I'm actually a qualified hairdresser! It worked as a career as I could be flexible around my young family, but I thought “I'm not really enjoying it, I’m not feeling fulfilled”. I have also worked at the Burns Unit at Salisbury Hospital and for Mencap with adults with learning disabilities (I really enjoyed that) as well as some time supporting dementia patients. But I just felt I needed to do something completely different.
Working at Julia’s House has changed me as a person. I wasn’t sure I would cope when I started but I’ve learnt so much and so many new skills that I thought I wasn't even capable of! Experiencing some of the things that the children and families we care for are facing you just care immensely; you have to dig deep and then a bit more. I feel proud of the work I do and proud of my amazing colleagues - we all support each other. It just makes you realise how wonderful life is and makes you feel so grateful for everything.
Can you describe a typical day for you at Julia's House?
There is no such a thing! No day is ever the same which is one of the aspects of the job I really like - you can be in the hospice, out in the community or helping to provide compassionate care and support at the end of a child’s life.
You can have days that run smoothly and are full of fun and days that aren’t as smooth and not so much fun – it’s not always easy. My day depends on what the children want and need as everything is centred around what they want to do. Even if a child is non-verbal, they can tell us what they want by a gaze, eye movement or noise.
My day is probably very different from what a lot of people might think a day in a children’s hospice is like. We like to make it full of fun and laughter, making memories for the children. When a child says to you at the end of a community sit “this was the best day ever” that's just amazing. We cook, do arts and crafts, watch movies and do quizzes with the older children. Sometimes when they lose the quiz, they have to wear the wig of shame (an idea from one of the teenage boys!).
What's the most rewarding aspect of your role?
There are so many. When I’m with a non-verbal child that is laughing hysterically at you, that's just wonderful…being able to give a family respite when they really need it as they're so desperate for a break…knowing that you've given the children the best day that you can.
Children saying to you “I actually don't want to go home!”
Building relationships with the children and families is so rewarding. Getting to know what they like and don't like, you just build on that. Creating that safe space in which children feel comfortable and can talk about things that maybe they don't feel able to talk about elsewhere.
Have you got any standout moments and memories?
Last summer, one of the children I look after had done fake tattoos on his arm to look like me! I was a bit worried about what his mum would say! A child saying they’d had such a wonderful day they didn’t want it to end - I had to say to myself “don't cry, you can do this”.
I love the children taking the mickey out of me too. We all bring different aspects to our roles and I bring the fun. But it’s also about knowing when it’s time to change, to be sensible and appropriate. That’s something that I have had to learn myself and really developed since I’ve been at Julia’s House.
What would you say to someone who is thinking of joining Julia's House?
I would say “just do it”! It’s the best job I've ever had! It’s just so rewarding getting to know the children and building that bond. And with colleagues too, we are all there to support each other. I spent years looking for the right job and now I've found it!
