Ronald McDonald House in Nedlands provides care for children in need

The building is a sanctuary which radiates an incredible amount of warmth and joy.

It's the type of place you walk into, look around and breathe a sigh of relief - because you have made it to your second home.

The new building itself is joyful - with its colourful walls, artwork and gardens.

Its breathtaking centrepiece is a multi-story installation which hangs from the building's centre to the lower floor.

The building is shaped like a figure eight, and the central rooms on each floor have circular glass that looks into the installation.

Much to my excitement, after closer inspection on each level, what first appears to be charms hanging from the ceiling are drawings by Ronald McDonald's residents - cut into colourful plastic.

The result is a fantastically strange mobile that brings brightness and colour into the house, fuelled by the creativity of its little residents.

Looking up at the installation, Ronald McDonald philanthropy manager Susan Morrow had a big smile.

"I love it because it connects the house with colour and light," Ms Morrow said.

"Every time I look at it, it looks different.

"It's fun to look up sometimes in life."

Ronald McDonald House Nedlands is proud to be the home of about 2000 families every year who have to travel away from their homes for their child to receive medical treatment at Perth Children's Hospital or King Edward Memorial Hospital.

In its eighth year as its relatively new, purpose-built, Nedlands location, after 25 years in Subiaco, the house has two play rooms, 47 bedrooms and plans to expand in the future.

It makes a safe-haven for plenty of rural and regional families who don't have accommodation or family in the city.

The Ronald McDonald House realises its job isn't medicine, but to support families and ensure they are kept together.

A standard room at the house has a large window, which brings ample sunshine into the room, an ensuite and four beds (a larger mattress for the parents and a bunk bed for children).

With opening windows and odour-absorbing tiles, the room has been very well thought-out.

Various other rooms support different family arrangements and sizes.

A recent family that stayed at the house had nine kids, so no family is too big.

"We do have slightly bigger rooms, for kids who have a mobility issue or they've got a slightly larger family, because our big thing is that we're family-centred care," Ms Morrow said.

Outside the rooms are communal breakout areas with a kettle which gives parents an opportunity to sit down while their child is at the Learning Centre or playing in the area.

"In the evenings, we've got tea and coffee here, so you might see the parents gathering for a quiet chat," Ms Morrow said.

"This space gets used in a lot of different ways - I've seen Lego being built, I've seen giant puzzles on the floor."

Along with the standard rooms, the house has two special isolation suites for children who are immunocompromised - perhaps for kids recovering from burns, on a transplant journey or during some part of their chemotherapy.

These rooms are on the lower level of the building and have windows that look to the garden outside.

Santa is sure to walk past the window and wave hello at Christmas time, and so is the Easter bunny.

It's these little details that showcase how thoughtful the house is, and the effort that goes in to make sure residents feel safe and looked after.

The house's mascot Gus, the dog, has free reign over the premises.

Gus is a failed guide dog, who's gentle demeanour made him perfect to be working with kids every day at Ronald McDonald House.

The kids absolutely adore him and he lays patiently as young kids clamour over him and pull his tail.

The play areas are any child's dream, supplied with every toy needed for a good ol' play time.

The Learning Centre, Ms Morrow's favourite part of the building, is a haven for fun and hands-on education.

With some kids in and out of medical treatments on a regular basis, they often miss access to school and can fall behind their year group.

Teacher Miss T* runs the Learning Centre, which is tasked with creating lesson plans for children at all different learning levels.

She teaches about two lessons a day, and manages to keep them fun and engaging for all ages ranging from three to 17-year-olds.

Each week she creates a new theme for the week, which helps keep the kids excited to come to lessons.

"She does amazing work, every week she does something new and she has the best imagination," Ms Morrow said.

"She never knows who she's going to have each session.

"So she's got to be ready with her programing to either make it super basic, maybe fine motor skills, or more complex."

Ms Morrow said the team were always looking for ways to celebrate little wins, so it wasn't unusual for kids to come and proudly show her the craft or cooking they had made.

"You never know when you're going to have a tribe of little people come down with their highly decorated whatever into the office," Ms Morrow said.

From a background of working with kids with disabilities, Miss T has a bubbly, kind and patient nature.

She also runs tutoring lessons over lunch times for any kids that are struggling with particular topics.

"You never know who's coming through the doors and what the days are going to look like," Miss T said.

"On Monday I had one child, but today I had 15 - I had a young lady with developmental delay and I had two children with cochlear implants.

"We just roll with whatever and whoever comes through the door."

Miss T also helps children who have been given various different computer systems to communicate.

Many parents are unsure how to teach their children to use eyegaze communication, or other computer based systems, so Miss T is essential.

She recently had a young woman who was unable to use the new system she was given, and really struggled to communicate.

"She came in with zero communication but after one-on-one tutoring she now says 'no work I'm finished' or 'dance party, please'," Ms T said.

"Last time I came in, I hadn't realised she'd got her eyegaze at the time.

"As I walked through the front door in the morning, all I heard was, 'hello' in a computer voice.

"It was her and she had this massive grin on her face.

"She said 'hello, good morning, how are you?'."

It's safe to say, Miss T in the Learning Centre is changing lives one child at a time.

Recently, she recognised that a few children were battling with mental health issues, so she has implemented paediatric emotional coaching.

The house also offers tutoring across the State for children who have been sick and missed out on essential learning at school.

Not limited by National Disability Insurance Scheme funding, the house is able to offer support to a wider range of children - including those with mental illness, cancer, diabetes and cystic fibrosis (which are classified as illnesses, not disabilities, and hence can have limited access to funding).

The Learning Centre is staffed by Miss T and volunteers - volunteer Helen Stewart was helping Miss T when Farm Weekly came to visit.

Ms Stewart comes in twice a week to help around the house.

She decided to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House to do something out of her comfort zone she hadn't had the chance to do earlier in life.

"I absolutely love it, it's so rewarding," Ms Stewart said.

"I've learned so much, especially from Miss T."

What really makes the Ronald McDonald House a home away from home are the staff and volunteers.

Every person I met on my visit to the house was kind and passionate about helping make a difficult time for many families as smooth and stress-free as possible.

The house has about 400 volunteers and "wouldn't exist" without the kind souls who give their time every week.

Anyone can volunteer, as long as they are over the age of 18, and people from all walks of life were encouraged to give volunteering a go.

"It doesn't matter if you have a disability, all you need is a sense of humour," Miss T said.

Ronald McDonald House volunteer of the year in 2022, Kevin*, has been volunteering with the house for 12 years.

A retired teacher, Kevin had a calming presence and talked with a gentle voice.

He had volunteered at the house for so long because while he enjoyed giving to the community, he also felt he received a lot from the people he worked with and had made many lifelong friends.

He referred to Doug, one of his friends who also worked with him on a Tuesday, as an example of how small things can make a big difference.

"The first job Doug does is pick up all the cigarette butts, and there were over 100," Kevin said.

"That's never gonna make the paper, but it's vital to what he does."

Kevin believed the house supported him to become the best person he could be and said it was a loving place to work.

While volunteers are the lifeblood of Ronald McDonald House, so are the generous people who donate to keep the house running.

Each room in the house is sponsored by either an organisation, family or individual.

Next to each door in the house is a little metal plaque which says both the number of the room and the person sponsoring it.

The adopt-a-room scheme ensures families have quality accommodation including access to 24/7 support staff, home-cooked meals and play and learning programs.

It costs about $11,000 per annum to adopt-a-room, which is a small price to pay when considering the amount of lives each room impacts.

At the end of each year, sponsors receive an in-depth report of who stayed in their room - including where they are from in WA, what their diagnosis was and how long they stayed.

"It captures some pretty heartfelt things, and we are always looking for more people to sponsor," Ms Morrow said.

The Ronald McDonald House also offers family retreats in the South West, which gives families a chance to escape the hospital for a little while.

Retreat access is not means-tested and Ms Morrow is proud of the fact that "if you need us, we are here".

The house isn't exclusive for people from the regions or who don't have a house in Perth.

In fact, Ms Morrow actively encouraged people to consider the house even if it was equitable for their family to rent accommodation in the city.

"We're right here on the campus and we've got some place to stay, and somebody to talk to and someone to make your meals," Ms Morrow said.

"The amazing volunteers are happy to do your laundry when you're just having those days when it's just too much.

"It's not just a place to stay, it's all the extra stuff."

RESIDENTS stay for a whole different range of time periods - with some children visiting once a year for appointments, while others have extended stays which stretch out from months to years.

About 99 per cent of the residents at the house are from the regions, and contrary to popular belief, only about 9pc of the residents have a cancer diagnosis.

Instead, they have a variety of medical conditions, ranging from chronic to acute.

The Edelly family, Narrogin, has been on and off residents at the Ronald McDonald House since October 2020.

Daughter Yaanvi was diagnosed with stage four cancer and has been in treatment since she was one.

She is now undergoing intensive treatments.

Her dad Raj stays with Yaanvi full-time, while his wife and son live in Narrogin during the school term and join the rest of the family at the house during the holidays.

Mr Edelly said he was extremely grateful for the house, and said staying there had helped make an extremely trying time slightly less painful.

"I'm not just thankful, I'm more than that," Mr Edelly said.

"If there was anything more than thankful, I would be that."

The process to become a resident was easy and straight-forward and helped Mr Edelly focus on more pressing matters.

The Learning Centre provided meals, which helped Mr Edelly on high stress days, as cooking a healthy meal could be time consuming and require planning.

"Food is the last thing on your mind after a whole day in the hospital," he said.

"The meals they provide you are good, and it takes the pressure off the parents - you don't have to worry about preparing meals."

Not having access to accommodation in the city was an added pressure.

"Thanks to Ronald McDonald House, where they provide accommodation for the families who come from a country town far away, that's one less thing they can worry about - the family has got a roof over the top of their head," Mr Edelly said.

Watching a child get sick is one of the most difficult things a parent can go through and Mr Edelly has found the experience hard.

"It was devastating to watch what she has been going through, earlier, and what she has now, it was devastating for us," Mr Edelly said.

"It's awful for parents to see their kids going through this."

Depending on how Yaanvi copes with the treatment, the family is hopeful she will be able to leave the house towards the end of the year.

"It's a long journey for her," Mr Edelly said.

"And staying away from the family makes it even harder."

Mr Edelly said the volunteers around the house were a helpful set of extra hands, and made his whole family feel much more comfortable.

He sent his biggest thank you to the house, which had helped him so much during this difficult journey.

The family recently cooked chicken biryani for all of the families at lunch time to try to give something back.

"We did the cooking to try and show our appreciation towards the good Ronald McDonald household staff members," Mr Edelly said.

* Some names have been changed or abbreviated for privacy reasons.