May 29, 2026 · 57 min · 19 segments
This podcast episode lives at the intersection of **hope, community, and the quiet heroism of parenthood**. It is not a cancer story — it is a story about what human beings are capable of when…
Janelle StanleyGuest
Matt AugustHostNo entities detected.
So for those listening, just give a little bit of a kind of rundown as what that, what that's looking like and, and, um, you know, I know you just kind of spoke to it earlier of, of, you know, the house is looking to, we're looking for funding and everything else, and I think that's, uh, that's a lot of what, what this conversation could do, and if people listening can help support that.
And, um, yeah, so just give us a kind of a quick idea as to what the new house is gonna do and, and kind of where everything's at there.
So the new house, uh, Ronald McDonald House Willow, is a mass timber, uh, tower that will house 73 families each night.
For example, when we stayed for two months, that's the type of place we would go to.
Um-The current Ronald McDonald House, Heather, is set up for a short-term stay with shared kitchens and, um, this one would have kitchens up in, uh, the resi- residence suites.
Um, so that's something that, um, from the time that we started our treatment at BC Children, Children's Hospital to now, there's this wild increase in, um, patients, which I don't understand it, but there is an increased need for families 'cause currently, uh, 500 families each year are being turned away from Ronald McDonald House because there's simply not enough room.
Um, so this would make a huge difference in the capacity that they could take on.
One thing that in talking to Richard and the team on the new house is-- that I found really important that I wouldn't really have thought of before-
... is, [clears throat] and maybe you would be able to speak to it just being there with your whole family, but, you know, they're-- the, the h- the rooms now are more like a dorm room-
This, the new house with it being more of a suite gives, gives the, like, husband and wife and the parents, like, a minute to, like, hold each other, cry, you know, just be.
Where, where, you know, the rooms now, it's open and you kind of have to find that space to, to do that, and I think it would just make it a little bit easier as a f- as a whole family to be able to stay in one space.
When you have, um, a toddler who is screaming and losing their mind and, and wants food now, and you're like, "I'm gonna take you to this communal kitchen and [chuckles] disrupt all these people because we just gotta get food, and we gotta get it now." And, um, it's-- there is a need for it kind of directly in your room as well.
So I think it kind of meets, you know, I don't have to go downstairs at 2:00 a.m. to cook this, which is a huge benefit, um, which, you know, if it's just me and the kids, it, it's right there for you.
I don't have to think, "Okay, well, what if my daughter wakes up and I'm downstairs making this?" And, um, so it keeps that whole portion together.
The ideas of the kitchens downstairs, there is that community-building component.
Um, it brings people out of their rooms so that they're not isolated and alone.
So for those listening, just give a little bit of a kind of rundown as what that, what that's looking like and, and, um, you know, I know you just kind of spoke to it earlier of, of, you know, the house is looking to, we're looking for funding and everything else, and I think that's, uh, that's a lot of what, what this conversation could do, and if people listening can help support that.
And, um, yeah, so just give us a kind of a quick idea as to what the new house is gonna do and, and kind of where everything's at there.
So the new house, uh, Ronald McDonald House Willow, is a mass timber, uh, tower that will house 73 families each night.
For example, when we stayed for two months, that's the type of place we would go to.
Um-The current Ronald McDonald House, Heather, is set up for a short-term stay with shared kitchens and, um, this one would have kitchens up in, uh, the resi- residence suites.
Um, so that's something that, um, from the time that we started our treatment at BC Children, Children's Hospital to now, there's this wild increase in, um, patients, which I don't understand it, but there is an increased need for families 'cause currently, uh, 500 families each year are being turned away from Ronald McDonald House because there's simply not enough room.
Um, so this would make a huge difference in the capacity that they could take on.
One thing that in talking to Richard and the team on the new house is-- that I found really important that I wouldn't really have thought of before-
... is, [clears throat] and maybe you would be able to speak to it just being there with your whole family, but, you know, they're-- the, the h- the rooms now are more like a dorm room-
This, the new house with it being more of a suite gives, gives the, like, husband and wife and the parents, like, a minute to, like, hold each other, cry, you know, just be.
Where, where, you know, the rooms now, it's open and you kind of have to find that space to, to do that, and I think it would just make it a little bit easier as a f- as a whole family to be able to stay in one space.
When you have, um, a toddler who is screaming and losing their mind and, and wants food now, and you're like, "I'm gonna take you to this communal kitchen and [chuckles] disrupt all these people because we just gotta get food, and we gotta get it now." And, um, it's-- there is a need for it kind of directly in your room as well.
So I think it kind of meets, you know, I don't have to go downstairs at 2:00 a.m. to cook this, which is a huge benefit, um, which, you know, if it's just me and the kids, it, it's right there for you.
I don't have to think, "Okay, well, what if my daughter wakes up and I'm downstairs making this?" And, um, so it keeps that whole portion together.
The ideas of the kitchens downstairs, there is that community-building component.
Um, it brings people out of their rooms so that they're not isolated and alone.
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