It would be an understatement to say that Harper Harrell has a smile that lights up a room — it lights up all of the outdoors.
That was evident this week when the 12-year-old cancer survivor’s smile lit up her Durham backyard as she buzzed about, sharing with all comers her plans to build safe, free housing there for families with children in treatment at Duke Children’s Hospital.
Harrell was treated at Duke for more than two years after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2021 at age eight. She traveled to the hospital more than 100 times and spent more than 50 days hospitalized.
During that stretch, Harrell took comfort in knowing that after chemotherapy and related medical care, home was only a short drive away. That wasn’t the case for many other patients she met at Duke.
“We were able to come into our own house every single time I got out of the hospital, and not everybody had that privilege,” Harrell told NC Newsline. “We wanted to help everybody else that we possibly could feel that way.”
Harper famously rang the bell signaling the end of her cancer treatment during a Duke University basketball game in February 2024. Cancer patients are generally considered cured or cancer-free if they remain in remission for five years after treatment.
Harrell shared plans for the new housing during a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday that was attended by dozens of friends, donors, Duke Hospital staffers and other supporters.
A photo of an artist’s rendering of the Harper’s Home project. (Photo: Greg Childress/NC Newsline)Those plans call for two duplexes and two accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to be built in the family’s extra-large backyard on Strebor Street, less than two miles from the hospital. The project will provide free housing to as many as six families when completed in 10-15 months.
The first phase of construction will include two buildings serving up to three families at a time, with full kitchens, in-unit laundry, and space for families to remain together throughout treatment.
Through Harper’s Home, a nonprofit founded by her mother Heather Hindin and inspired by Harper, the mother-daughter duo already provides free housing for families receiving treatment at Duke at its project in Durham’s Northgate Park neighborhood. Those rental properties are just under four miles from the hospital.
To date, Harper’s Home has provided more than 300 nights of housing to families that traveled more than 40 miles for care. The nonprofit began housing families in Northgate Park in September.
The new project will allow them to serve many more patients and families. And the need is growing: according to information provided by the nonprofit, more than 3,200 families traveled more than 40 miles for care at Duke Children’s Hospital in 2025, a 33% increase from the previous year.
“When a child is in treatment, families need more than a place to sleep,” Hindin said.“They need to stay together, hold onto a sense of normalcy, and remain close to the care their child depends on.”
Hindin said she and Harper were touched by the families they met at Duke who were struggling with the “financial and emotional strain” of finding stable housing near the hospital. “When we got through kind of the thick of things, we had been thinking about how we could help those families, and we just happened to have a big piece of property.”
Low-income renters in North Carolina far outnumber affordable housing units
Matthew Rougeux, vice president for general services at Duke University Hospital, was at the groundbreaking. He said Harper’s Home’s new project will provide welcome support.
“We are blessed to be in an area like this, where we have world class children’s care, right here in our backyard, but that’s not true for a lot of our state. It’s not true for a lot of our country,” Rougeux said. “We rely on community partners and this is one good example of how someone turned their personal story, their own journey, into something that’s going to bless our community and our patients.”
Rougeux noted that other options exist for out-of-town families traveling for care, including the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Triangle, which provides housing at three sites across the Triangle. Families are not charged to stay at Ronald McDonald House, but are asked to make donations at a suggested rate of $10 per day.
According to Harper’s Home, the nonprofit has raised most of the funding needed for the first phase of the project and is working to close the remaining $275,000 of its approximately $800,000 goal.
To learn more or support the project, visit www.harpershomenc.org.
Hence then, the article about young cancer survivor breaks ground on family housing for children in treatment at duke hospital was published today ( ) and is available on NC news line ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Young cancer survivor breaks ground on family housing for children in treatment at Duke Hospital )
Also on site :
- Ann-Margret, 84, Reveals Ongoing Pain of Losing Husband of 50 Years: 'I Miss the Laughter' (Exclusive)
- Global Shisha Tobacco Market Forecast 2025-2035: Asia Pacific & North America Growth Led by FUMARI, SOCIALSMOKE .. Future Market Insights
- Muslims the target? Fury as millions lose voting rights in India’s Bengal