Getting to the hospital can be tough for folks who live on the North Island. For a lot of people, the closest hospital is hours away.
So what do you do when your kids get sick? Where do you stay when your kid needs to spend a few nights in the hospital?
That’s the problem the Children’s Health Foundation of Vancouver Island wants to solve with the new Q̓ʷalayu House.
Q̓ʷalayu House had its official opening this week. This new facility is a safe place where families can get housing and support when their kids are sick. It has 10 bedrooms, lots of common areas to hang out in, and a full kitchen. It even has a play area and a barbeque.
The building is located right next to North Island Hospital. This makes it super easy for people who need to be close to their kids while they get better.
Veronica Carroll, who is the CEO of the Children’s Health Foundation of Vancouver Island, told CBC that Q̓ʷalayu House is also for folks who are about to have a baby.
“You can imagine how stressful that is for women to have to move out of their home communities and leave all of their support systems behind,” she said.
To get a spot at Q̓ʷalayu House, families can be referred by a doctor, social worker, or another professional support person.
Q̓ʷalayu is a word from the Laichwiltach dialect. It is pronounced Kwuh-li-you. It is a word that families use for their children that means that child’s reason for being.
