Recovery Haven

FOR those in Kerry who have been hit by the plight of cancer, there has always been one light in the that they could count upon for support in their darkest hour, this light was the Tralee based, Recovery Haven Cancer Support House.

Recovery Haven, since it was first officially opened to the public back in 2011, has provided essential free cancer support services to the people of Kerry, all without receiving an ounce of state funding – hence the huge importance of the Ring of Kerry (ROK) cycle to the charities continued operations.

“This is actually our third time getting named as a nominated charity; they are huge, huge supporters of us here at Recovery Haven and simply put, we would not be able to open the doors without Cathal Walsh and the ROK committee,” said Recovery Haven’s Eileen Comeford, talking to The Kerryman.

“Every cent that we get from the ROK goes back to the people of Kerry and stays in Kerry; we get no government funding, no HSE funding and so we rely totally and completely on fundraising. With no funding, it’s always difficult for us to budget so for us to know this year that we are a nominated charity for the ROK, we can plan and fund all of the free services that we offer.”

Founded by Marian Barnes, the charity offers psychological support, social support and information, not only to those on their own cancer journeys, but also to the families and carers alongside them.

Some of these free of charge services include a no appointment needed drop-in service, one to one therapies, counselling, a confidential listening service, touch therapies, massage, reiki, reflexology, a support nurse, exercise classes, support groups, workshops, along with external services such as bra and prosthesis fitting and ‘The Wig’ clinic.

“This money keeps our doors open every Monday morning, say that if you get bad news from your doctor over the weekend, our door will be open for you to come in, sit down and talk to a trained listener and plan out what can be done. “

“All someone has to do is come knock on our door and these services are readily available for them,” she finished. Recovery Haven is based in Haig’s Terrace, Tralee, and is open from 10am to 4pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 10am until 7pm on Wednesdays; they can be contacted on (066) 7192122 or by email at recoveryhaven@gmail.com