Huntington's Disease Association Youth Engagement Service celebrates after receiving £418,360 in National Lottery funding

Huntington's Disease Association Youth Engagement Service (HDYES) is celebrating today after being awarded £418,360 in funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.

HDYES works specifically with young people and young adults living in a family affected by Huntington's disease. We support them with the many challenges they face.

This new National Lottery funding will help children and young people be more prepared for the future, feel less isolated, and improve resilience. The project begins in June and will help young people in England, the development of HDYES will bring many benefits to the Huntington’s community. In addition to the extra planned support, this project will create more opportunities for children and young people to take part in activity days and chances to meet each other, to meet and share experiences.

As well as extending the HDYES service to reach and support more people this funding will help with developing our co-creation service called HD Youth Voice. This means that age-appropriate, peer-designed, information is available to children and young people at the earliest possible point, making HDYES better able to support those who need it as early as possible. 

Cath Stanley, Chief Executive of the Huntington's Disease Association said,

“We are delighted to have received this funding for HDYES.  The money will pave the way for the children and young people’s future path allowing children and young people to develop their skills and confidence to discuss Huntington’s disease, helping to increase awareness and challenge stigma as well as enabling them to build resilience to face the challenges of Huntington’s disease”

National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. The National Lottery Community Fund distributes a share of this to projects to support people and communities to prosper and thrive.

Ruth Sands, Head of Services at the Huntington's Disease Association said,

“Thanks to National Lottery players, this grant means that we can support children and young people affected by Huntingnton’s disease by building their confidence, having age-appropriate support in place and creating a better future for children and young people affected by Huntington’s disease. This will make a big difference to people’s lives.”

During the pandemic, in 2020 alone, The National Lottery Community Fund distributed almost £1 billion to charities and community organisations across the UK.

To find out more about the National Lottery funding visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk