Feast of St. Joseph: Article Featured on the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland Website

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The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland featured a story on their website highlighting Joseph & Mary’s Home’s Feast of St. Joseph on March 19.

Homilist Deacon Mark Yantek, who is also the Executive Director at fellow Sisters of Charity Health System ministry Regina Health Center, was heavily quoted in the article.

To read the article and learn more about Deacon Mark’s Homily, you can visit this page.

The full article is also provided below.

Joseph & Mary’s Home celebrates patronal feast day with Mass, lunch

News of the Diocese | March 24, 2026

Very little is known about St. Joseph, the spouse of Mary and the earthly father of Jesus. Yet he filled an important role in their lives, said Deacon Mark Yantek.

“Joseph was always willing to do what God asked,” he said in the homily at a Mass celebrating the patronal feast of Joseph & Mary’s Home, a ministry serving medically fragile men and women experiencing homelessness in Cleveland.

Regina Health Center in Richfield, where Deacon Yantek is executive director, hosted the Mass in Holy Family Chapel on March 19 for the leaders, board members and others who assist with ministry.

Joseph & Mary’s Home and Regina Health Center are among the ministries of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine, who are celebrating 175 years of service in the Diocese of Cleveland.

Deacon Yantek said some of the sisters identified a need more than 25 years ago and took a leap of faith to fill it. “It’s all about doing what God asks us to do. Joseph had a role to play. All he had to do was say ‘yes.’” And he did, marrying Mary and providing a stable home life for her and Jesus.

“He told the Lord to use him as his tool,” Deacon Yantek said, explaining the sisters did something similar when they opened Joseph’s Home. They saw a need, knew what God was asking them to do and they did it, he said. Later, the ministry expanded to include women.

He credited the CSA “Dream Team,” which worked to identify areas of need and to find ways to help. Sister Ruth Ann Patrick, CSA was a social worker at St. Vincent Charity Hospital, located near Joseph & Mary’s Home. She suggested the ministry after seeing that some men discharged from the hospital were homeless and had nowhere to go as they continued their recovery. Joseph’s Home provided housing, care and resources to help them get their lives back on track. Later, the ministry expanded to include women.

Sister Judith Ann Karam, CSA congregational leader, welcomed guests to the liturgy, which was celebrated by Father Jamie Mazanec, a retired diocesan priest who most recently was senior parochial vicar at St. Columbkille Parish in Parma. Music was led by Miguel Chavez, senior vice president of mission and ministry for the Sisters of Charity Health System and secretary of Joseph & Mary’s Home, and his brother, P.J. Chavez.

Among the attendees were Sister Joan Gallagher, CSA who was the first director of Joseph’s Home, and Anna Stormer, who began her tenure as executive director of Joseph & Mary’s Home earlier this month.

“Finding a need and filling it is what the sisters have done since arriving here from France in 1851,” Deacon Yantek said. He also credited the board members and others who have supported the ministry. “As they always say, ‘We never did it alone,’” he added.

Feast of St. Joseph Celebrated with Mass on March 19

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On March 19, Joseph & Mary’s Home supporters came together to celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus and husband to Mary. Mass was celebrated in the Holy Family Chapel at fellow Sisters of Charity Health System ministry Regina Health Center. A luncheon reception followed. As Deacon Mark Yantek said in the homily, “Just like St. Joseph said yes to doing God’s will, the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine said yes to God when they established Joseph & Mary’s Home.”

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Anna Stormer Named Next Executive Director at Joseph & Mary’s Home

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Joseph & Mary’s Home is pleased to announce that Anna Stormer has been named its next Executive Director. She began her role on Tuesday, March 10. Stormer will oversee strategy, operations and program excellence. Her focus will be on ensuring vulnerable neighbors have a safe place to recover, stabilize their health and move forward with dignity. Prior to her arrival at Joseph & Mary’s Home, Stormer served as Vice President at a national financial institution building pathways out of poverty. Earlier in her career, she worked with individuals navigating housing instability and complex medical and behavioral health needs.

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Cleveland.com: Five Takeaways from Original Joseph & Mary’s Home Article

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Joseph & Mary’s Home was proud to be featured on the front page of the Christmas Eve edition of Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer. The story was also on Cleveland.com. On January 20, Cleveland.com published another piece that highlighted five key takeaways from the original article. You can read the full recap here, which highlights the recent renovation of Joseph’s Home; the public and private funding that helped fuel it; the holistic care and supportive services provided at Joseph & Mary’s Home; the effectiveness of the medical respite model; and why it is so crucial to help those experiencing both homelessness and acute medical needs.

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The Journey: Abundance of Love, Kindness and Respect Puts Angelica on Path to Stable Housing

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The Fall/Winter 2025 issue of The Journey, the biannual newsletter of Joseph & Mary’s Home, features a cover article about Angelica, a widow who came to Joseph & Mary’s Home to heal after living outside left her with frostbite on her feet. The newsletter also features the a special message from Sisters of Charity Health System President and CEO Michael Goar, good news about the recent #weGIVECATHOLIC campaign, a donor spotlight on Dr. Srinivas Merugu, a recap from this summer’s Joseph’s Home Blessing and the Perseverance In Hope Luncheon, information on the Sr. Joan Gallagher, CSA, Endowment Fund, news updates, and more.

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The Plain Dealer, Cleveland.com Feature Joseph & Mary’s Home

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On Wednesday, December 24, Joseph & Mary’s Home was featured on the front page of The Plain Dealer! The story was also featured on Cleveland.com. Reporter Julie Washington interviewed Ken, one of our resident alumni, to explain to readers the services and support provided at Joseph & Mary’s Home. Through Ken’s experience, it is explained how Joseph & Mary’s Home helps residents not only with getting back to good health, but also with preparing for stable housing and a brighter tomorrow. The article also highlighted the capital campaigns that allowed Mary’s Home to be established and Joseph’s Home to relocate and be renovated.

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$61,256 Raised During 2025 #weGIVECATHOLIC – Thank You!

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Thanks to the generosity of 126 donors, a total of $61,256 was raised for Joseph & Mary’s Home during #weGIVECATHOLIC this year! This is not to mention the excitement we felt of earning both The Gallagher Family’s $10,000 matching gift, as well as $5,000 from an anonymous donor. The money raised during #weGIVECATHOLIC gives Joseph & Mary’s Home the support it requires to help those experiencing homelessness rest, recover and be renewed as they heal from various medical-related challenges.

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#weGIVECATHOLIC Early Giving Starts Saturday, November 22!

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#weGIVECATHOLIC is a one-day Giving Event hosted by the Catholic Community Foundation that takes place on Giving Tuesday each year. It is a day dedicated to giving thanks and giving back.

Donors can give online early starting on Saturday, November 22 to have their gift matched, or you can mail your check early to Joseph & Mary’s Home.

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Perseverance in Hope Raises More Than $102,000

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“We are in the right place. With the right program. With the right purpose. At the right time.”

Keynote Bobby Watts delivered those words to the more than 300 attendees at the annual Perseverance in Hope 2025 Benefit Luncheon on Thursday, October 30. This year’s luncheon raised more than $102,000 for Joseph & Mary’s Home, including $18,187 that will go directly toward the Sr. Joan Gallagher, CSA, Endowment Fund.

Bobby, who is the CEO of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, expressed that Joseph & Mary’s Home is a national leader in medical respite care.

“Joseph & Mary’s Home is one of just two medical respites that I am aware of in the United States that is accredited as a rehabilitation facility. This means that there is a focus on acute medical conditions, while also going the extra mile to work toward long-term rehabilitation,” he said.

Bobby also explained how in Cleveland, medical respite is a part of the homeless response system, or the continuum of care. He said this is not common in other cities, where those who enter medical respite lose their spot in line to secure permanent housing. In Cleveland, that doesn’t happen. “Cleveland is a special place,” he said. “You have a robust service network, donor community and business network, but are a small enough city where you can collaborate and connect easily.”

Bobby further highlighted how he is impressed with the Joseph & Mary’s Home alumni program that lends support to former residents, whether they need a place to do their laundry or need a ride to a medical appointment.

“Joseph & Mary’s Home helps residents reach their full potential, and make sure people can be whole again. Look at the resident stories shared today. This place has helped restore their health, hope and future. Medical respite is morally right and fiscally responsible, and reasonable,” he said.

With The City Club CEO Dan Moulthrop as emcee, Perseverance in Hope also honored two award winners.

Tom Tyrrell received the David Henderson Memorial Award. Tyrrell chaired the most recent “A New Home for Healing” Capital Campaign to relocate and renovate Joseph’s Home. The campaign – which publicly launched in June 2024 – raised over $3 million. This surpassed the original $2.5 million goal. Thanks to Tyrrell’s efforts, the money raised will go toward Joseph’s Home capital improvements, as well as operational costs and the endowment. Click here to watch a video about David Henderson Memorial Award Recipient Tom Tyrrell.

The City of Cleveland’s “A Home for Every Neighbor” initiative was this year’s Dream Team Partnership in Service Award recipient. Cleveland Department of Public Health Housing & Outreach Project Manager Liam Haggerty accepted the award. The initiative began in February 2024. The city’s original goal was to have 150 unsheltered residents placed in safe, stable housing within 18 months of the initiative’s launch. As of the end of October, they have successfully housed nearly 200 residents, exceeding their goal in a shorter amount of time than anticipated. Click here to watch a video about the Dream Team Partnership in Service Award Recipient “A Home for Every Neighbor” initiative in the City of Cleveland. 

Pictures from the event can be viewed on the Joseph & Mary’s Home Facebook Page.

Thank you to our sponsors:

Gold Level: Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland & East Central Ohio, Inc.
Silver Level: Michael L. and Maria L. Spangler; Baker Hostetler; Liberty Development Company; and Mansour Gavin LPA

To watch a video featuring the healing and renewal that happens at Joseph & Mary’s Home, click here. 

2025 Dream Team Partnership in Service Award: The City of Cleveland

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The 2025 The Dream Team Partnership in Service Award Recipient is the City of Cleveland’s ‘A Home for Every Neighbor’ Initiative.’ To watch a video highlighting the program, go to https://youtu.be/QSuXmo_plLU.

Launched in February 2024, the City of Cleveland’s ‘A Home for Every Neighbor’ Initiative was established to provide additional, stable and supportive housing options to unsheltered individuals. The initial goal was to house 150 city residents in 18 months. ‘A Home for Every Neighbor’ surpassed this goal – and the timeline — by reaching 154 neighbors in need by April 2025, just 14 months after the initiative launched.

As of October 2025, 177 men and women now have homes. Of those, 70% had experienced chronic homelessness, which is defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development as an “individual or family who is homeless and resides in a place not meant for human habitation, a safe haven, or in an emergency shelter, and has been homeless and residing in such a place for at least 1 year or on at least four separate occasions in the last 3 years.” At Joseph & Mary’s Home, 41% of residents are chronically homeless.

Not only does A Home for Every Neighbor connect residents with housing, it also works with various ministries and organizations within Northeast Ohio to offer wraparound services. The partners provide case management, outreach, strategy consulting, connections to mental health care and drug treatment, legal aid, funding administration, and facilitating charitable donations for furniture, clothing, and other items.

The City of Cleveland has been a longstanding supporter to Joseph & Mary’s Home. We are grateful to have strong community support to help the most vulnerable and in need, and to have a partner in our work of moving our residents forward to stable housing.

About The Dream Team Partnership in Service Award

Throughout their 174-year history, the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine (CSA) have devoted their lives to meeting community needs and adapting their ministries to remain responsive as needs change. To do this, the sisters collaborate with a host of partners who help make their service possible. Joseph & Mary’s Home mirrors this tradition, relying on strategic partnerships to provide the best care for men and women experiencing homelessness. Together with other service providers, government entities, universities, healthcare systems, housing providers and others, we ensure that individuals experiencing homelessness have the best chance of achieving long-term health and housing stability.

The purpose of the Dream Team Partnership in Service Award is to recognize valuable partners who have made deep and meaningful contributions to the mission of Joseph & Mary’s Home, in the same spirit of service as the partnerships the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine have developed over the years.

The name of this award is derived from a group of eight, talented and determined CSA sisters — the “Dream Team” — who helped develop numerous projects responding to evolving community needs, including Joseph’s Home. Their commitment to researching the most effective models, finding excellent partners and persevering even when the obstacles seemed too steep exemplifies the character of the individual or organization we seek to honor with this award.