02/06/2026
Welcome to the big launch! Today, we officially launch our campaign to build a new purpose-built Franklin Hospice for our community.
I could tell you about increasing demand, ageing facilities, growing populations, and the critical need for purpose-built space. But instead, today, I want to tell you a story....
Dan was just 36 years old when he was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. He and his wife Emma had recently bought their family home in Franklin. They had young children, busy lives, and plans for the future — the sort of future most of us assume will still be there tomorrow.
Instead, their world changed overnight....
Like many people, when hospice was first mentioned, they thought it meant the very end. A place people go to die. What they discovered was something very different. Hospice became part of their journey long before the end — and long afterwards.
As Dan's illness progressed, our team walked beside the family every step of the way. We helped keep him comfortable, coordinated care, organised equipment, and supported Dan's wish to remain at home with the people he loved most.
We cared for Emma too.
We helped prepare her for what was coming. We answered difficult questions. We reassured her that she was never alone, even in the middle of the night when fear and uncertainty felt overwhelming.
As Dan became weaker, hospice was there more often. Adjusting medications. Providing specialist care and comfort. Supporting Emma as she juggled being a wife, a mum, and a carer all at once.
And when the end came, they were not alone.
Our clinical team was there supporting Dan and Emma through those final hours, easing distress, bringing calm to an incredibly difficult moment, and ensuring Dan died peacefully, surrounded by love and familiarity.
But hospice care did not stop when Dan died.
In the weeks and months that followed, our bereavement team continued to walk beside Emma and the children as grief settled over their world.
This is what Franklin Hospice does every single day. We care for people living with all life-limiting illnesses. We support patients and the people who matter most to them. We answer late-night phone calls. We sit beside people in fear and heartbreak.
Right now, one in three people in our community will need hospice support at some point in their lives, either directly or through someone they love.
That is why this new hospice matters.
Our new hospice hub will allow us to care for more people, provide dedicated spaces for counselling and family support, create welcoming areas for connection and wellbeing services, and ensure future generations in Franklin can access specialist hospice care close to home.
Today, we still have $3 million left to raise.
Please donate via our Givealittle page: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/building-franklins-future-hospice. Or contact me anytime on 09 238 9376.
Lydia Charteris MBA
Chief Executive Officer
Franklin Hospice supports people in Franklin who have been diagnosed with a life-limiting illness.
