Joseph's Home announces plans to serve women experiencing homelessness through the launch of Mary's Home

Monday, April 26, 2021

Tags: Outreach , Joseph & Mary's Home

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Women experiencing homelessness in Cuyahoga County have no place to go to recover from significant health problems. They desperately need a nurturing, caring place to recuperate—not only from physical illness, but also the additional trauma they face from homelessness. Joseph’s Home is embarking on a transformative project with a goal to open the doors to women experiencing homelessness by December 31, 2021. Mary’s Home—a 10-bed facility that was a former school and daycare center adjacent to Joseph’s Home—will serve greater Cleveland’s population of single, adult women who are experiencing homelessness and have acute medical conditions.

Joseph’s Home receives countless calls from hospital social workers asking for help for women with serious medical issues. Cleveland’s traditional shelters are not equipped to help women recover from surgery or other acute health conditions. Instead, when women experience a medical issue, they are rushed to emergency departments. Once they are treated and discharged back to a traditional shelter or the streets, the cycle starts all over again. Sadly, due to a lack of space, Joseph’s Home is forced to turn away these referrals just when medically-vulnerable women need us the most. The time is now to end this tragic cycle for women.

Women experiencing homelessness in Cuyahoga County have no place to go to recover from significant health problems. They desperately need a nurturing, caring place to recuperate—not only from physical illness, but also the additional trauma they face from homelessness.

“The experience of homelessness can cause rapid clinical decline and accelerated aging in the women we serve. While we have safety protocols and services in place, a low-barrier shelter cannot fully support women who require additional care to heal but are not sick enough to be hospitalized. We cannot wait—the time is now," said Teresa Sanders, chief program officer, YWCA of Greater Cleveland.

An Integrated Care Model
At Mary’s Home, women will benefit from medical supervision, nursing care, education about their conditions and treatments, medication management, nutritious meals, and coordination with health care, supportive service and housing providers. The integrated care model developed through the experience Joseph's Home has serving men will be used in Mary’s Home, with added expertise in issues impacting women’s health and well-being.

Joseph's Home has secured commitments from Cuyahoga County, the ADAMHS Board and other funders for the staff and programming costs. With support from its partners and champions, Joseph's Home will open the doors to women at Mary’s Home by the end of 2021 and double the number of people Joseph's Home serves annually.

Joseph’s Home has helped hundreds of medically-fragile men experiencing homelessness stabilize their health and secure permanent housing. It has long been the vision of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine to also serve women in this same way. Now with your generosity, Joseph’s Home can make this vision a reality at Mary’s Home.

To be a part of this historic moment for Joseph’s Home and the community, contact Development Director Madeline Wallace at mwallace@josephshome.com or visit www.josephshome.com/maryshomecampaign for more information.

Joseph's Home is a ministry of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine.