When the charity, Leonard Cheshire, announced it was to shut its Holehird home in Windermere and open one instead in the Lancaster or Morecambe Bay area, it was not only the 25 residents who were devastated but also the team of 80 volunteers.

The charity says that the home is losing £15,000 per month and it would not be easy to convert to comply with the Care Standards Act.

But the volunteers say that Holehird is a special place where lifetime friendships have been forged.

Michaela Robinson-Tate spoke to volunteer co-ordinator Barbara Russell.

“WE ARE devastated, obviously,” said Mrs Russell. “We think of it as our home and we consider it a privilege to be invited into the home.” Mrs Russell said that Holehird had more volunteers than many of the Leonard Cheshire homes throughout the country, pointing to its unique character.

She has been going to Holehird for 18 years, originally for just one afternoon a week, and then, gradually as she stopped work, more often. She is now at Holehird around three days a week.

She explained why Holehird attracted so much help and support: “When it first became a Leonard Cheshire home the local community got very involved at the beginning.

“There are people who are still going up there who were there right from the beginning, and they have taken Holehird to their hearts.” Mrs Russell, who describes Holehird as a family home rather than an institution, said that many of the volunteers were friends with people at the home and the friendships had lasted a lifetime.

The volunteers realise that Holehird has difficulties and is losing money, but the decision to close the home seemed to have come on quickly and to have been very business-like.

“Our hearts are in this. We know these people and we feel the management don’t really feel for the residents, and we know how devastating this is going to be.” Mrs Russell said that some of the residents were too ill to really comprehend what was going on, and it was difficult for the volunteers to talk to them about what was happening.

“Leonard Cheshire has said they will send in people and talk to them and show them all the different options but, for people who are really so ill that every day is a struggle, it’s very difficult for them to even understand and think what an alternative is.” Mrs Russell disputed Leonard Cheshire’s view that Holehird was isolated. Around three-quarters of the residents were unable to go out and, for those that could, there was a raft of volunteers on hand to take them wherever they wanted to go.

“We all think and all the residents think the fact it’s in beautiful grounds and the beauty of the house far makes up for the fact we are slightly out of the village.” Over the years volunteers have raised a lot of money for Holehird and for the extra things that make all the difference to quality of life. Support groups in Ulverston and Kirkby Lonsdale work to bring in funds.

Among the jobs that the volunteers do or help with include: lifts to hospital and dental appointments, to the pub, the shops, trips on the lake in the summer, to church, for meals out, the cinema and the theatre, as well as to visit family and friends.

They garden in the small areas around the house, put out the bird food, and feed the fish in the fish tanks.

A volunteer from the Rainbow Trust plays the keyboard and sings to residents; the Rotary Club and the Lions have fund-raised; and people have gone up to play dominoes for 20 years.

Other volunteers help with writing letters, crosswords, painting, flower arranging and cooking with the residents. Two teams of eight women from the Soroptimists and the WRVS serve teas and coffee in the afternoon. Clergy visit and give communion, while volunteers help with the harvest, carol and Easter services at the home, and organise a memorial service at Holehird for any residents who have died, if their family wishes.

There is a local committee, which discusses the running of the home, a fund-raising committee and a house committee, which also organises social events. Mrs Russell said that volunteers were always thanked whenever they visited the home.

The volunteers are doing their best to support the residents, and are writing to MPs and Prime Minister Tony Blair to ask for a re-think over part of the Care Standards Act that says homes should be in units of a maximum of ten residents. They are also in touch with Leonard Cheshire to ask if the charity could change its mind or delay the decision so they could lobby for a change in legislation.

Mrs Russell said that during a recent meeting with Leonard Cheshire regional managers, there was a very noticeable feeling among those present.

“It was palpable the feeling of togetherness of the residents and their families and volunteers. We had this real feeling of wanting this not to happen.” See Letters for more...