Purple House finally secures a permanent home after 30 years
PURPLE House Cancer Support has announced that its new permanent premises will be located on Duncairn Terrace in Bray.
Although it will be a number of months before the sale process is complete, Purple House made the announcement to give hope to the thousands of people who use its services each year.
The HSE has approved a capital application for funds towards the purchase and it has been prioritised for funding. The group is awaiting a date for when the funds will be allocated. A major fundraising drive will also be announced once the country returns to normal.
Conor O’Leary of Purple House said that they are looking forward to moving in and creating a new facility when the current crisis has passed. He said that the news follows many long months of hard work, and 30 years of Purple House having been in operation.
The centre will include play areas for children who are living with cancer in their families, or who are bereaved, as well as areas for counselling sessions, gardens, therapy rooms for massage and other treatments, and private rooms.
There will be a specially-designed cancer rehabilitation gym and recreational area, a children’s cancer therapeutic and family support area, and dedicated rooms for cancer survivorship and education programmes. There will also be a much bigger drop-in space, offering cancer support and information.
‘We have a bit to go before we can officially run services from the new centre and we will need your help, but we want to thank so many people who have helped us to get this far,’ said Mr O’Leary.
The group announced in January that it had reached the ‘sale agreed’ stage on a town-centre premises, but only unveiled the exact location this week.
Purple House has been located at premises on Parnell Road for the past seven years, and made the move to purchase a new facility having outgrown that centre.
The cost of the new building is €1.275 million, with the charity hoping to receive half of that from the HSE. Purple House has some savings made over the last decade and is also taking out a 15-year loan.
Speaking back in January, Mr O’Leary said that the offices at Aubrey Court on Parnell Road are no longer fit for purpose.
He said that the search for a permanent home started 10 years ago, and included considering the old Orchard nursing home, now the site of Bray’s forthcoming primary healthcare centre.
‘Because nowhere was available, we found the great premises at Aubrey Court and moved in over seven years ago,’ he said.
They soon realised that there would not be quite as much space as they needed for the demand on the service.
‘People might arrive at the door in distress, and we would have no private room to bring them,’ he said.
The lease was coming to an end in October and the board made a decision to try to search again for a permanent premises, which would be big enough to accommodate today’s demands and facilitate growth the future.
‘It is the first premises we found in a ten-year search which fits every need,’ said Mr O’Leary. ‘It’s private, there is parking on-site, it’s close to transport links, there is a garden, and dedicated rooms for therapy, art therapy, classrooms and more. We couldn’t have built a better project.
‘Purple House will run it but it will also be a community building, and available to other groups and organisations. It will have been provided by the community for the community,’ said Mr O’Leary.
Fundraising will continue for ongoing services as well as the fit-out of the building.