The Ashley House Northwest has been providing a safe, happy, warm environment for children with disabilities in Washington since 1989. Beth Ann Johnson, director of donor relations and grants, says the organization offers "comprehensive, cost-effective, quality care to medically fragile children."
However, these children have strong wills and an inspiring love for life that most of us never experience personally. Johnson says upon first visiting the organization and meeting the children, she knew it was a community she wanted to be a part of. It was "a place where miracles happen every day."
Although the organization has been working with Sacred Heart Medical Center and Health Care Authority from their locations near Seattle, Johnson says the distance between Spokane and Seattle has caused difficulties. Some children have to live in Seattle while their families remain on the east side of Washington. The six-hour drive dividing families is obviously not any parent's first choice, "and maintaining those family connections when possible is so important for the life and health of the children," Johnson says.
In the future, Ashley House Northwest plans to open a new center in the Inland Northwest so children can be closer to their families and still receive the care they need.
"We are on target to open an Ashley House in Spokane in the next few months," says Johnson, as the organization has recently purchased a house they are working to remodel with proper medical equipment and staff. Upon opening, the house will serve eight children at a time. ♦
To help Ashley House Northwest with their new location, they are accepting donations of any form, including houseware or a van to help transport the children. Visit ashleyhousekids.com.
