Steady donations for ‘home away from home’ beside Nanaimo hospital

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Jesse’s House will be a three-storey complex, which will have a staff worker present 24-hours-a-day. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Jesse's House

Steady donations for 'home away from home' beside Nanaimo hospital

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The 14,000 square foot facility’s budget of $10 million and projected opening of next spring remains in place, Carroll said.

Crews have the concrete foundation poured, replacing a portion of parking lot between Kiwanis Lodge, Dufferin Place and the Nanaimo Public Health Unit.

Carroll said each unit will have their own bathroom, two double beds, kitchen appliances, as well as linens among other conveniences.

As a regional hospital, Carroll said some families are strained financially to find places to stay while their child receives care.

The suggested overnight donation is $25 per night.

A convenient, safe place to stay helps reduce stress during already anxiety-inducing times, Carroll emphasized.

“Health outcomes are so much better when we can keep families close together; this is really the underlying premise of our homes. We’ve seen it time and time again, it’s just one less thing for the families to worry about.”

CHFVI has two other similar homes elsewhere on Vancouver Island: Jeneece Place at Victoria General Hospital in View Royal, and Q̓ʷalayu House, adjacent to Campbell River Hospital.

Continuous donations and deals offered by contractors to help lower costs for the Nanaimo project have been much appreciated, Carroll said.

“They’ve given extraordinary deals on the products that we need to build the building; it’s really been a fantastic community effort.”

Donations and more information on Jesse’s House are available here.

Donors can secure various-sized bricks for custom engraved messaging, which are expected to be placed as part of a walkway at the home’s rear where a children’s play area will be constructed.

Jesse’s House is thanks to the advocacy of Sheri Shanahan, who stayed at Jeneece Place after her daughter Jesse was born 31 weeks early in April 2013.

Following her daughter Jesse’s passing, Shanahan raised over $150,000 to create a Nanaimo version of Jeneece Place.

Renderings of Jesse’s House, currently under construction. (Image Credit: Children’s Health Foundation of Vancouver Island)

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