For families across the rohe/region, accessing specialist medical care for a child often means leaving home at the very moment they most need stability and support.
When a child is seriously unwell, parents face not only the emotional toll, but also the financial strain of travel, accommodation, and time away from work, their village, and wider community.
Through its accommodation subsidy to Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) New Zealand, Community Trust South helps ease that burden—ensuring families have a place to stay, with a built-in support system, close to their child during treatment.
The experience of the Grant family from Gore reflects just how vital this support can be. When their son Angus was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive leukemia, the family suddenly had to travel far from home for urgent treatment in Christchurch and later Auckland. In the midst of fear and uncertainty, Ronald McDonald House provided more than just accommodation—it offered a safe, supportive environment where the family could focus entirely on Angus. Through months of treatment, relapse, and a life-saving transplant, the Grants described RMHC as a lifeline, providing both practical support and the compassion needed to get through each day.
Community Trust South’s funding plays a quiet but powerful role in making this possible. By contributing a $20 top-up per bed night to supplement Ministry of Health subsidies to those in the Trust's area/rohe to stay in community owned health accommodation facilities outside the region, the Trust helps ensure families like the Grants can access vital services without the added weight of financial pressure.
As healthcare becomes increasingly centralised, this support is more important than ever—helping southern families stay together, close to care, and supported in every sense during some of life’s most challenging moments.
Community Trust South is proud to play a small part in the mahi of health accommodation facilities outside of the region, including Ronald McDonald Charities NZ, Bone Marrow Cancer Trust and Southern Cancer Society Trust, supporting families when their child is in a New Zealand hospital away from home, and knowing the impact goes far beyond the practical.
You can read more about the Grant family's experience with Ronald McDonald House here
