Cleveland's Campus District highlights work of Joseph's Home

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Tags: Outreach , Joseph & Mary's Home

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Joseph's Home, a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System, is located in Cleveland's Campus District area. The Campus District recently highlighted the work Joseph's Home does to help homeless men with acute medical needs heal and achieve independence. The full text of the article is below or available here.

Get to Know - Joseph's Home

Since its launch in April of 2000, Joseph’s Home has been doing the outstanding work of serving those experiencing homelessness in the Campus District. As a branch of the Sisters of Charity Health System, Joseph’s Home was initially created in order to provide transitional housing for homeless men, specifically those with acute illnesses that were recently discharged from the hospital.

In 2016, the organization implemented a medical respite program in order to better provide services for their clients. Joseph’s Home began to change their approach, one which was traditionally based around transitional housing, to an approach that is now more clinically focused. With a doctor, nurse, and psychologist now on site, Joseph’s Home is able to offer a better level of medical care to their clients that are acutely ill, which can range from anything from having a wound or ulcer to receiving cancer treatment.

Men that stay at Joseph's Home are provided with one of the 11 private rooms on site with stays that can last around 2-3 months on average, but are always dependent on the individual’s condition and whether or not they are able to find housing. Executive Director, Christine Horne, loves being able to welcome in new clients and offering them a space of their own to simply just relax. Horne and her colleague, Madeline Wallace, both share a passion of being able to provide quality care to new clients that come in.

Horne, after spending 22 years with Catholic Charities and earning her master’s degree at Cleveland State, wanted to continue her career in Catholic healthcare, which is how she found her match at Joseph’s Home. Wallace, Joseph’s Home’s Development Manager, is a West Virginia native who completed her undergraduate degree at Baldwin Wallace University. Cleveland’s strong non-profit market kept Wallace around after her undergraduate at BW. The two work together along with their medical and health care staff, peer recovery supporters, and resident support coordinators to provide the best possible care for their clients.

On top of their medical respite care, Joseph’s Home offers a multitude of programs and services for their clients, which include collaborations from local universities. Joseph’s Home partners with Tri-C students to offer occupational therapy to clients, Cleveland State students to offer music therapy, and Ursuline College Students to offer art therapy. Joseph’s Home also gives students at John Carroll University opportunities for summer fellowships and opportunities for students in their Human Resources courses to study volunteer training and management.

As for in-house programming and services, Joseph’s Home holds a variety of activities, including a weekly movie night, pastries and poetry, soap-making classes, and pizza and puppy days. During the holidays, Joseph's Home holds an event for alumni to return and share gifts and a meal.