Paterson, New Jersey, or nearby temporary accommodation urgently needed.

April 26, 2013 8:30 AM

The day after she graduates from nursing school in early May in North Carolina my niece has to take her 20 month old daughter for a five-week outpatient medical treatment in Paterson. There is no Ronald McDonald house nearby. Please help us find reasonably priced and safe accommodations for a young single mom and her baby.

The baby was born with major malformations in her intestines, spent the first year of her life at UNC hospital. In spite of every kind of therapy the baby still does not eat, even though she is now physically capable of doing so. In all other respects baby has developed normally.

The program in Paterson is apparently the best for this kind of unusual situation, they will teach the baby to eat.

posted by mareli to Travel & Transportation (12 answers total)

What is her transportation situation? I would not recommend relying on public transportation. What's her budget?

Paterson is densely populated and not particularly nice but the immediately neighboring towns like Wayne, Hawthorne or Fair Lawn are all ordinary, totally boring suburbs where safety wouldn't really be a concern. You've probably already discovered that cheap accommodations can be difficult as there are a lot of corporate headquarters in the area (Toys R Us, Nabisco, Becton Dickinson) and many hotels are priced accordingly.
posted by bcwinters at 9:18 AM on April 26, 2013

Has your niece asked the program coordinator at the hospital this question? I don't think that many of the hotels in the area surrounding Paterson are going to be considered reasonably priced for a five week stay. I think there's a RMCD House in New Brunswick, New Brunswick to Paterson is under an hour each way. Can she drive? Even with gas and tolls, that might be the best option for her.
posted by crankylex at 9:33 AM on April 26, 2013 [2 favorites]

I'm not sure if this is totally out of the question, but I'm working off of crankylex's answer.

The Ronald McDonald house in New Brunswick, NJ is literally across the street from a fantastic children's hospital, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital. (I used to live on that block.) Is there any chance her child could have the treatment done there instead?

The hospital and RMD House's location are both less than a 10-minute walk from a major NJ Transit train station, which would connect her to New York, NY, and thus, all other major transportation options.

If not, I second asking the Paterson hospital's program coordinator about housing options. I will also ask my friends and family in Paterson and Wayne about any options I'm unaware of.
posted by rachaelfaith at 9:43 AM on April 26, 2013

Best answer: Maybe you can try Airbnb? I personally have no experience with them, but they helped hook up people needing immediate accommodations for some who were displaced from Hurricane Sandy.
posted by foxhat10 at 9:49 AM on April 26, 2013

Response by poster: It's an extremely specialized program, other hospitals don't do it. She will have a car, but driving to New Brunswick and back is too far alone in heavy traffic in an unfamiliar area with a freaked out baby, it is not doable. airbnb, good idea. She has been talking with the hospital, getting not much help. Thanks, keep ideas coming.
posted by mareli at 9:51 AM on April 26, 2013

Sorry that I can't really answer your question, but I do know that Paterson itself is not a good town to be in. Like, at all. There might be decent sections of it, maybe, but I don't know which ones are OK, if any. As others said, Wayne is a better area.
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 10:11 AM on April 26, 2013

FYI, I checked out CouchSurfing.org and there are very few Couchsurfers in the Paterson area, and the ones who are there don't take kids. Could've been an option but doesn't look promising.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 11:09 AM on April 26, 2013

Just so you understand, it's New Jersey and getting from point A to point B in my experience almost always involves driving, often on the Garden State and often in traffic. Distance and inconvenience is going to have to be balanced with cost. This place is in Union, around 20 minutes away, and would be $800 for the month. Were I with a toddler for five weeks, I think the setup they offer would be ideal.
posted by DarlingBri at 12:11 PM on April 26, 2013 [1 favorite]

Have you considered reaching out to churches and/or women's shelters in Paterson?

I'm not implying that your daughter would stay at them, but that the pastors or directors at both might know of some more options.
posted by de void at 1:44 PM on April 26, 2013

Response by poster: Thank you all. My sister just called to say that they've found a very nice and reasonably priced room on Airbnb for her daughter and granddaughter. It's in Montclair, just a few blocks from a house my sister and I visited many times when we were younger- the home of our beloved great-aunt who died some years ago at 99.

The owner of the home lives there and is fully aware of the situation and promises to take good care of them both.
posted by mareli at 10:54 AM on April 27, 2013

I'm so glad she found a place to stay, mareli. I live in West Orange, which is right next to Montclair, so if your niece finds herself needing an extra pair of hands for anything, I would be happy to help. You can always memail me or reach me at my username @ gmail.
posted by crankylex at 12:01 PM on April 29, 2013

Response by poster: Just in case anyone checks back here: the baby is now eating. My niece posted a film clip on facebook of her daughter eating mac and cheese and clapping at herself afterwards, brought tears to my eyes.
posted by mareli at 9:33 AM on June 25, 2013 [5 favorites]