---
title: "Les Amis opens £3.5m care home funded entirely by donations"
url: https://www.nsfw.info/les-amis-opens-care-home-funded-by-donations/
published: 2026-10-09T11:30:56+00:00
modified: 2026-10-09T11:30:56+00:00
author: "Chief Editor"
categories: ["News"]
image: https://www.nsfw.info/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/les-amis-opens-care-home-funded-by-donations-1024x572.webp
summary: "Jersey learning disability charity Les Amis has opened Maison des Amis, a £3.5m specialist care home in Trinity funded entirely through private donations."
publisher: NSFW (https://www.nsfw.info)
---

# Les Amis opens £3.5m care home funded entirely by donations

**In brief:** Jersey learning disability charity Les Amis has opened a new specialist care home in Trinity, providing nursing and end-of-life care for residents with additional needs. The five-bedroom facility, called Maison des Amis, cost £3.5 million and was funded entirely through donations from individuals and charitable trusts.

## A Decade in the Making

Ten years is a long time to wait for anything, but for the families of Les Amis residents, the opening of Maison des Amis in Trinity will have felt worth every moment. The BBC reports that the new specialist care home, which features five bedrooms, has been designed to support people with learning disabilities who have additional needs arising from age or dementia.

Leslie Norman, chair of the charity, described the opening as “a culmination of 10 years’ work,” adding that it was “really outstanding.” The facility was officially opened by Jersey’s Lieutenant Governor, Vice Admiral Sir Jerry Kyd, who serves as a patron of Les Amis. He offered warm congratulations to the board and leadership, saying: “It’s a great pleasure and it’s a complete honour to be here. Let’s hope this building has many many happy decades ahead of it.”

## Continuity of Care at the Heart of the Project

What makes Maison des Amis particularly significant is not simply that it exists, but what it represents for the people who will live there. Norman explained that the core purpose of the facility is continuity: residents of Les Amis who require nursing care, whether due to dementia, physical needs or end-of-life circumstances, will be able to receive that care from staff they already know and trust.

“The idea is that our residents at Les Amis, when they need nursing be it dementia or physical and in particular end-of-life care, they will be able to have it with staff who they’re used to,” Norman told the BBC. He added that this would bring “a great deal of comfort” to families, saying: “It’s a great relief to know that not only will we look after them during their ordinary lives, but when it comes to the end-of-life care we can carry on looking after them to the standard that they know we insist on.”

For families navigating the already difficult terrain of caring for a loved one with a learning disability, the prospect of having to introduce unfamiliar faces and unfamiliar surroundings at the most vulnerable point in a person’s life is a genuine and understandable fear. Maison des Amis addresses that directly.

## A Road Not Without Its Bumps

The path to opening was not entirely smooth. The BBC reports that the facility was originally planned for the former Hampshire Hotel in St Helier, but those plans were halted in 2023 due to commissioning issues. The project ultimately found its home in Trinity, and the £3.5 million cost was met entirely through private donations from individuals and charitable trusts, with no reliance on public funds.

That last point is worth underlining. A specialist care facility of this scale, serving some of the island’s most vulnerable residents, was delivered from start to finish by the generosity of private donors and the determination of a charitable organisation. It is a reminder of what Jersey’s community is capable of when it puts its mind, and its money, to something worthwhile.

## The NSFW Perspective

There is something genuinely heartening about a story like this. No government procurement process, no ministerial task force, no consultancy fees billed at eye-watering rates. Just a charity, its supporters, and a decade of quiet determination producing a building that will make real, tangible differences to real people’s lives. Jersey’s voluntary and charitable sector has long punched above its weight, and Maison des Amis is a fine addition to that tradition. One hopes the families of current and future residents sleep a little easier tonight.

*Source: [BBC News](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmwyq3112pxwo)*