Ark House Celebrates It’s 20th Anniversary

Ark House was begun in December, 1985 by The Ark Sunday School class of First United Methodist Church of Richardson. The idea was born from the need of one of its members whose 2-1/2 year battle with Hodgkin’s disease meant staying near his treating hospital in Houston for much of his therapy. The vision of providing temporary housing for cancer patients and their families in Dallas became reality through the efforts of this class.

The class supported the project for several years but it grew beyond its capability and the project is now more broadly based. The Ark House Board of Directors is the administrative body and is composed of a diverse group, several of whom have no affiliation with First United Methodist Church of Richardson.

This project is run solely by volunteers with no paid staff so all money collected goes directly into the project.

Patients and their families are referred to Ark House by hospital social workers who are in the best position to determine financial need. The occupants of Ark House generally come from smaller towns in Texas but some have come from as far away as Canada and South America. Medical needs vary including cancer and burn treatments, organ transplants, cardiac care and other serious medical needs. Various religions, races, genders, and ages are represented.

The project consists of 17 apartments, 11 of which are located near Baylor Hospital and 6 between Presbyterian and Medical City Hospitals. These apartments are leased by Ark House from their respective landlords and made available to out of town patients at a charge of $ 15 per day. Money collected from this charge covers approximately 50% of the total cost of running the project so the difference must be made up from donations, contributions, and fund raising efforts.

These one bedroom apartments are each fully furnished including living room, dining and bedroom furniture, linens, paper goods, cooking utensils, dishes, cable T.V, etc. Pictures and wall hangings, along with a few books and magazines give the apartments a homey atmosphere.
In addition to providing a place to stay, Ark House also assigns a volunteer to provide liaison to the occupants by answering questions, advising of location of stores, etc. or just being someone to listen to their problems. This adds a personal touch while they are in Dallas and often helps relieve some of their anxiety.

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It’s January 2021 – We Just Finished Our 35th Year

Update in Process