After 25 years of providing respite care to hundreds of disabled families Donna Claire House in Seaburn, Sunderland, is to close on 19th December due to lack of funds.

It’s a fate many charities have been hit with since the recession; jobs cuts, pay freezes, rising inflation cause us to tighten our belts – but the main problem is that the government tightens its belt too. Public services like the NHS have less money and some services rely more heavily on charities, but they’re all applying to the same pots of money from places like the National Lottery, Children in Need, charitable trusts and since we’re giving less the pots are smaller.

I’ve been to walk around the house that’s been their life with founders Geraldine and Audrey: