A year ago, Joseph & Mary’s Home realized a longtime dream of our founders, the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine, with the opening of a second facility to care for women experiencing homelessness who need a safe place to recover after surgery or hospitalization. Spring is a celebration of renewal and new beginnings. Your support provides people experiencing homelessness with a place to heal. People like Kathy and Karolin.
With the opening of Mary’s Home in 2022, the number of adults Joseph & Mary’s Home was able to reach expanded significantly, with 119 men and women served in residence and the community. Sixty-two percent of residents were medically stable upon discharge and 90% of alumni exited to and remained in a stable setting. The list of outcomes in 2022 is highlighted in the recent issue of The Journey, the biannual newsletter of Joseph & Mary’s Home.
The recent issue of The Journey, the biannual newsletter of Joseph & Mary’s Home, features a cover article about a pilot program with Cleveland Clinic to quantify benefits of the medical respite model and document best practices. The newsletter also has news about outcomes in 2022, a donor spotlight focused on monthly giving, a donor honor roll and more updates.
Crain’s Cleveland Business published an op/ed letter in this week’s print and digital editions from Executive Director Beth Graham. She wrote about the importance of medical respite care for medically fragile people experiencing homelessness and the importance of local funding for these vital programs.
Many individuals and partners touched the lives of Joseph & Mary’s Home residents last year by providing everything from daily essentials like toiletries, bedding and towels, to warm winter coats and hats. These gifts help us welcome new residents and meet their basic needs. We are also very grateful to all the donors who made Thanksgiving and Christmas extra special.
Joseph & Mary’s Home had a big year in 2022 and has big plans for 2023. Top on the list of accomplishments was the opening of Mary’s Home, a new 10-bed medical respite facility for women experiencing homelessness. Executive Director Beth Graham penned a letter highlighting accomplishments of 2022 and looking ahead to 2023.
Eileen Vizcaino, retired Presbyterian PC U.S.A. clergy woman, volunteers at
Mary’s Home leading a weekly poetry group. She also established a charitable gift annuity, making a donation to Joseph & Mary’s Home that helps support the ministry and pays her a quarterly dividend.
Known around Joseph & Mary’s Home as “by the book Green,” Terry Green has been a resident support associate for nearly four years. He helps ensure there is coverage 24/7/365 and works on different nights the second shift (4:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.) and third shift (12:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.). As a recovering alcoholic having reached 30 years of sobriety, Terry said he views working with residents as “giving back.”
For years, the garden behind Joseph’s Home has provided residents with a quiet oasis to help them relax and continue their healing journey. It is filled with flowers, plants, trees, sculptures and places to sit, and has been built and maintained by dedicated volunteers.
The garden has been so important to Joseph’s Home residents, it inspired the creation of a similar outdoor space at Mary’s Home. Thanks to a generous donation from the Sullivan family, the Thomas C. and Sandra S. Sullivan Memorial Garden was built in the summer.