Hopeful future for 'Haven'

Four years after Christopher's Haven was created, the push is on to build 8 to 10 more units for the families of children receiving cancer treatment at Mass. General Hospital.

"There are so many kids that could benefit from the housing because almost 100 percent of the treatment is outpatient," said Sudbury native Dan Olsen, founder of the Wayland-based Christopher's Haven.

The families, which often include several children, have no place to stay. If they can find a hotel, it is all out-of-pocket expenses, Olsen said.

Housing costs for a family over the course of two months can run as much as $160 a day at hotels. Transportation, meals and other expenses add significantly.

Wayland Senior Girl Scout Troop 3154 members, from left, Erica Leblang, Sonya Eberlein and Kelly Grenier, with the Harry Potter books the troop donated to Christopher's Haven.
(Courtesy photo)

 Although the children may only spend an hour a day in the hospital, a series of treatments can last six to eight weeks.

"We're on our third family in the apartment and there are just so many people waiting in line to get into a situation like this," he said. "There's such a need right now."

Christopher's Haven has been looking for properties that would be suitable for additional apartments for the last year. The problem is location and accessibility to Mass. General.

Martha Welsh, executive director of Christopher's Haven, said they began looking at properties they could afford about five miles away, but it is just too far from the hospital. What they have learned from the families using the existing apartment is that it is very important to be close to the hospital, especially for late-night emergencies.

"Every one of our families has had the experience that in the middle of the night, they have needed some emergency treatment," Welsh said.

Being limited to the Beacon Hill or Charles River areas for convenience is a challenge because of the lack of available properties and the expense of purchasing buildings in the area.

Christopher's Haven does have one wonderful opportunity it is exploring, Welsh said. Nothing is final, but she said they have their fingers crossed it will work out.

"There is a location directly across from Mass. General where there is a gas station right now. The owner of that property has just done a feasibility study on building a bed and breakfast style hotel," Welsh said.

After being introduced to the owner, discussions began about possibly making the entire second floor a space for Christopher's Haven. It would include 8 to 10 interconnecting bedrooms with common space consisting of a kitchen, living room and play area.

The Christopher's Haven floor would also have its own private entrance.

"If this opportunity gets through the process, it would be magnificent. It would be amazing," Welsh said.

Even if this situation does not work out, Welsh said they will continue to search for other options. They will explore any opportunities that come up.

"We will move in 2007 to expand our abilities to serve families because it's needed," Welsh said.

The ideal design for Christopher's Haven apartments would be having about 10 units on one floor with common areas for the families to share.

"Our model is a 10-family home, having a whole room where you can have videos and games," Olsen said. "The forgotten component of this is siblings come and live there too and they have to have a relatively normal life while their siblings are going through this treatment."

Architect Dennis Rieske, a cancer survivor himself, has been helping Christopher's Haven strategize about what they want and need in terms of housing.

"The theory was it would be in the range of 8 to 12 units. You get a bedroom. You may or may not share a bath. There's a communal kitchen. There's a communal common space. The most important thing is to provide a home-like setting for the kids and their families," Rieske said.

Sharing space with other families is an important piece of it, Welsh said. Families need to be able to talk with each other and get help and support from others going through this difficult experience, she said.

"They can get together and share their experiences and have a place where the kids can go and play," Rieske said.

He would also like to see a rooftop garden created so the children have access to a play area outside.

If space for the ideal 10-unit floor plan does not surface right away, Welsh said in the short term they will try and open two more individual apartments next year.

"The ideal situation would be if they were next to each other or nearby to start to get that sense of community," she said.

To create any type of new housing, whether it be a 10-unit floor or a single apartment, Christopher's Haven needs funding. The support for the charity so far has been overwhelming, but more is needed, Welsh said.

"The rising up of support in these towns has been incredible," she said. "When a family needs help, it's great to see people rally around. Now we just need to do more of it and get more apartments near the hospital quickly."

Christopher's Haven appreciates any donation, but the focus in early 2007 will be on getting foundation grants and corporate support, Welsh said.

There are naming opportunities for corporate supporters in any permanent home the charity builds, she said. They would love to find companies with an interest in being a primary supporter.

"It's going to be a couple of years before we can raise the big money we need to build something on Beacon Hill. It's very ambitious, but it's very doable," Welsh said.

There will also be a focus on raising money to meet the operational costs of running the existing apartment. It costs about $3,500 per month to operate the apartment, Welsh said.

"We will be out with campaigns that try and raise money in those kind of increments, so people can support the family for a month and try and cover those costs while we raise the capital money," she said.

Although Christopher's Haven has expended its base of supporters in the MetroWest area, Welsh said they also hope to expand more in the Boston community in 2007.

Anyone interested in becoming a corporate supporter of Christopher's Haven should contact Martha Welsh at 978-460-3145.

Note: If you can give a Gift of Hope, please make your check payable to Christopher's Haven, and send it to the Town Crier, 33 New York Ave., Framingham MA 01701.
Donors will receive an acknowledgement letter and be recognized in the Town Crier, unless they wish to remain anonymous. Thank you for your support.

Reprinted with permission from the Wayland Town Crier