The house, located at 101 Old Mason Farm Road in Chapel Hill, was established in April 1998 as a halfway home for needy families with severely injured and ill children.
Through the house, those in need can obtain meals, shuttles to the hospital and even small money donations to help alleviate the stress associated with medical bills and hospital life.
Jenny Foster, house director of development, said the $1.2 million renovation and refurbishing process was necessary because the waiting list is extremely long.
Foster said the house had to turn down a large number of families, making it hard for the group to do its job.
"In 1999 alone we had to turn down over 500 families," Foster said.
After recognizing the need for the house to develop, area towns and volunteers from the house collaborated on several fund-raising drives, saved funds and received large grants to help realize their goal of expansion.
All of the work paid off in the recent $1.2 million dollar expansion and refurbishment that created 50 percent more occupancy for the house and improved the existing facilities.
With its recently added space, the house hopes to better serve more families outside of the Triangle.
"Families living in a 50-mile radius of Chapel Hill are asked to give up a spot to children who are forced to commute a long distance to get to the hospital," Foster said.
