Demelza House in Kent has been the only refuge for my friend Kathy and her son, Kieran, who is terminally ill.

Owing to lack of funds, it is in danger of imminent closure. The Lottery money given to the Dome was enough to keep this hospice thriving for 39 years.

While rehabs for ex-offenders, alcoholics, addicts and "chemical dependents" are springing up in Brighton and Hove like a fast-food chain thanks to government funding, it is interesting no one wants to have an auction for a detox clinic!

Children suffering, along with their families, do not have any choice. No amount of counselling or medicine can arrest their fate.

Terminal is terminal. They cannot choose to think of others instead of themselves to change their behaviour. They cannot drop in to the local AA meeting, at no cost to anyone, to recover.

-Jacqueline Madders, Orchard Gardens, Hove