 They provide flexible, practical and free support at home and in the hospice to the entire family, often over many years and at any stage of the child's or young person's illness.This includes short breaks and daytime activities enabling families to get a rest; help with the control of pain or other distressing symptoms; and support for family members, including brothers and sisters.When the end of a child's life approaches, children's hospice services are there to provide end-of-life care and bereavement support for as long as it's needed, helping families and friends approach death with dignity and peace.Helen House in Oxfordshire was the world's first children's hospice.