A helping hand for kidney patients

October 30, 2015

Alex and his family

Foundation Housing is able to help a diverse range of disadvantaged people in WA through our partnerships with various community organisations. One such partnership, with Kidney Health Australia, has enabled us to provide accommodation for more than 70 families from rural WA who have had to stay close to a city hospital for kidney treatment.

Kidney Health Australia has utilised two of our houses since 2006 under a project called FAITH (Family Accommodation Initiative Transplant Housing).

Kidney Health WA Programs Coordinator Katrina Fromson said the project, which enables the fully furnished homes to be provided at a very generous rate, is an invaluable help to families going through the challenges of transplant operations and dialysis.

“The costs involved in live kidney donation can often put an overwhelming burden on families, financially and emotionally,” Katrina explains. “In the past, families have had to made inappropriate accommodation choices, resorting to caravan parks, shared or boarding house accommodation for the duration of their transplant.”

She says families from all over WA have taken advantage of the Foundation Housing homes. “The last patient to stay was a lovely family from a town three hours south of Perth. The mother of three had decided to donate a kidney to her seven-year-old son, Alex. The family of five required a place to stay that was comfortable and affordable. They were extremely grateful to be able to stay at a location that required no out-of-pocket cost to themselves as they still had a mortgage to pay on their house at home and had a recovery period of eight weeks in Perth.”

Foundation Housing’s Senior Housing Coordinator – Managed Properties, Mariska Vear, says the relationship with Kidney Health Australia is a very satisfying one. “It’s great to be able to provide a home that benefits so many people,” she says.