A Port in the Storm helps patients, families

There's a cheaper housing option for patients who are travelling to Winnipeg for health care.

A Port in the Storm gives people receiving treatment or their families, support and a place to stay for $58 a night.

Executive director Stacey Grocholski was in Brandon on Thursday to bring awareness to the services that A Port in the Storm offers. They provide guests with everything they would normally have if they were staying in the comfort of their home, Grocholski said.

"You have a full kitchen, you can cook your own meals there," she said. "You can have family members come, it's a larger space. We always say to everybody make it your own, bring stuff from home and so really (it's) your place to call home."

The facility, located at 311 Alexander Ave. in Winnipeg, has 15 suites for visitors to stay.

Their one-bedroom suites can accommodate up to a family of four. They also have larger two-bedroom suites for bigger families.

In addition to the accommodations, they host dinner nights, which give patients the opportunity to connect with one another.

"It really enables other people who are going through the same situation (to get together)," she said. "Say for example you're going through cancer treatment, you know it's nice to get together with some people and talk about some of their experiences and what they're going through. Providing that space for them to do that is important."

They've also started up an art therapy program wherein they have a volunteer come in about twice a month to teach different art forms. It helps stimulate imagination and creativity, Grocholski said, and to relieve stress and anxiety patients might be feeling from not only being away from home, but going through whatever medical treatment they're getting.

There's an art gallery in the building located in the common suite where they host their different activities. Patients can come by and look at the art, and they also have the option of bringing pieces back with them to their suite to add a personal touch.

In the six years they've been operational, they've seen more than 900 people come through their doors, she said. Some of them have been short-term guests, staying for a night, while others have remained with them for two years. There's no limit or requirement on stays -- people can come for as little as a night and stay indefinitely.

The organization was started six years ago in memory of a young mother from Brandon who travelled to Winnipeg for cancer treatment and was separated from her three-year-old son.

"She would talk to her oncology nurses, the two nurses that started A Port in the Storm, about if there was a place kind of like a Ronald McDonald House that she could stay at because she was separated from her child because of her treatment," she said. "That was really her vision, to have a place to call home while families and patients are going through any type of medical care."

For their initial stay, patients have to be referred by a health care professional, but after that they're welcome to book on their own, she said.

People interested in donating can call A Port in the Storm directly at 204 231-0720, or go online to aportinthestorm.ca.

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