Joseph’s Home Announces Endowment Fund to Ensure Respite Care For Cleveland’s Homeless

Leaders set $1 million goal for community

Cleveland, Ohio (May 19, 2019) – Leaders of Joseph’s Home, Cleveland’s only homeless provider focused on medical respite care, announced the establishment of the Sister Joan Gallagher Endowment Fund to ensure continued transitional housing and medical care for the homeless as they are released from the hospital.  The goal is to grow the endowment to over $1 million in the next five years.

Joseph’s Home was founded in 2000 by the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine (CSA) who saw an unmet need in the community for a place where medically frail homeless men could recuperate after leaving the hospital.  Since that time, Joseph’s Home has provided transitional housing and respite care to hundreds of homeless men, helping them regain the health, energy and hope needed to build stronger lives.

The Sister Joan Gallagher Endowment Fund, launched with a visionary gift of $100,000 from Richard M. and Jeanne Colleran Weaver, was named to honor the tireless efforts of one of Joseph’s Home’s visionaries and first executive director.  The announcement was made today at Joseph’s Home’s annual fundraiser, Perseverance in Hope, held at Windows on the River.

“For Sister Joan, the words ‘transitional’ and ‘recovery’ have spiritual, as well as physical and material meanings.  Transitional care means giving deep attention to the needs of the men as individuals so they have the confidence to live healthy and meaningful lives.  Recovery, in the most important sense, means a deeply-felt restoration of intrinsic worthiness and love,” said Christine Horne, executive director, Joseph’s Home.  “Joseph’s Home is a place of hope and spirit, qualities that define Sister Joan’s lifelong commitment to the poor and to the mission of her congregation.”

As a medical respite program, Joseph’s Home accepts referrals for homeless men confronting a range of acute or temporary medical needs, including: diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, effects from chemotherapy or radiation treatment, recuperation from stroke or recovery from surgery.  In addition to medical treatment, Joseph’s home also provides mental health and addiction services, as well as comprehensive art and music therapy, nutrition and support services to build stronger lives.

The success of Joseph’s Home is evidenced by a significant majority of residents leaving with a renewed sense of self, a place to call home, stabilized health conditions, and educational and job opportunities. Of the 82 men who resided at Joseph’s Home in 2018, 95 percent remain medically compliant and 78 percent were medically stable at discharge.

Once residents leave Joseph’s Home, they stay connected and continue to receive support through a robust alumni program that includes hundreds of graduates.  Joseph’s Home encourages alumni to stay connected through intensive follow-up via in-home visits, telephone calls, mail and other forms of continuous contact.  This ongoing outreach has had dramatic results for long-term success, with 93 percent of alumni having achieved medical stability and nearly 90 percent achieving housing stability.

The Sister Joan Gallagher Endowment Fund will provide annual income in perpetuity to ensure the long-term role of Joseph’s Home as a unique provider in Cleveland’s homeless services network.  To make a contribution to the endowment, contact Development Manager Madeline Wallace at 216.987.9201 or [email protected].

Media Contact: Terri Jankowski, 216.408.8021, [email protected]