Ronald McDonald House opens in Mesa

PHOENIX — A charity home helping families of sick children opened its doors in Mesa on Monday.

The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Phoenix opened its Valley location on the campus of the Cardon Children’s Medical Center at 2225 W. Southern Ave.

“I’m guessing that by the end of the week we’ll be filled up,” said Executive Director Nancy Roach.

The new house will provide a place to stay for families who children are undergoing in or out-patient treatment.

“A place to sleep and take a shower and eat a meal and just be sometimes,” Roach said. “That’s what we want to do.”

Roach said providing a place for families can be very important in easing the difficulty of dealing with their children’s illness.

“The last thing they want to worry about is ‘where am I going to sleep tonight and where am I going to eat dinner, and how can I take a shower, and how can I do my laundry and maybe where can my other children have an opportunity to play outside?'” Roach said. “What they want to concentrate on is the health of their child.”

Having the house actually on the campus of the Cardon Children’s Medical Center makes things even easier for parents, Roach said.

“The parents have the ability to just walk across the parking lot…so they’re just able to be close to their child,” Roach said.

Families are encouraged to contribute $15 a day while at the house, but Roach said they would not turn a family away if they could not afford it.

Roach said they are expecting five families to be checked in on Monday.