St. Judes believes that every child undergoing long-term medical treatment deserves safe, hygienic, and
supportive accommodation. Over the years, it has developed a structured ‘Home Away from Home’ (HAH)
model to support children and their families throughout treatment.
To extend this impact, St. Judes established the Janak & Dipa Dwarkadas Centre of Excellence at its ACTREC,
Navi Mumbai facility. The Centre runs a structured Home Away From Home Training Program to help like-minded
organisations design and manage high-quality residential care facilities across India.
Each year, over 650,000 families from low-income backgrounds travel to metro cities for their child’s cancer treatment. While medical infrastructure has improved, access to safe and affordable accommodation remains a critical gap.
As a result, many families face treatment interruptions or even abandonment.
The Centre of Excellence addresses this by building the capacity of organisations to deliver high-quality, family-centric residential care — improving treatment continuity and outcomes.
A Home Away from Home goes beyond accommodation. It is a structured, supportive environment that meets the medical, emotional, and practical needs of children and caregivers.
The program equips organisations to set up and run Home Away from Home facilities through:
Participants receive SOPs, templates, and practical tools based on the St. Judes model.
Engagement Model The Centre follows a structured, phased approach:
Who Can Engage How It Works
The Centre of Excellence is a capacity-building initiative. Participating organisations operate independently and retain full responsibility for governance and service delivery.
It is not a partnership, franchise, or oversight model.
Take the first step towards building a high-quality Home Away from Home model.
3rd Circle Manual - JAN 2026