$65,000 award and technical assistance to help strengthen behavioral and mental health services

Joseph’s Home is one of five nationwide medical respite programs chosen by the National Institute for Medical Respite Care (NIMRC) and the CDC Foundation to receive grant money and two years of technical assistance to help strengthen behavioral and mental health services. Joseph’s Home, the only medical respite provider in Northeast Ohio for medically fragile men and women experiencing homelessness, will receive funding and support in its efforts to improve health outcomes for this population and, ultimately, to help them obtain permanent, stable housing. NIMRC and CDC Foundation funding and technical assistance will help identify and reduce barriers in delivering behavioral health services while COVID-19 persists.

For more than 20 years, Joseph’s Home has developed best practices for serving men in the Greater Cleveland community experiencing homelessness who are medically fragile. Since 2017, when a medical director and behavioral health director were hired, the ministry has been building its capacity to deliver integrated care. Since then, two peer recovery specialists, a contract RN and a community health worker have been added. This interdisciplinary team is essential to the ministry’s integrated model. With the opening of Mary’s Home in March 2022 to serve women, doubling the resident population, the organization is focused on enhancing the quality of the integrated care it provides and its sustainability.

“Receiving this generous award is a wonderful honor and national recognition of the work we’ve been doing for years—treating the whole person. These funds will help further integrate behavioral and mental health into our program and expand it even more as we begin serving women in addition to men,” said Beth Graham, Joseph’s Home executive director. “Medical respite is an emerging field, so the technical assistance will be extremely valuable as we continue to learn and implement best practices.”

The other four recipient programs are:

• Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington (Spokane, Wash.)
• Madison Urban Ministry/JustDane (Madison, Wis.)
• HOPE Hospitality & Warming Center (Pontiac, Mich.)
• Bob Tavani House (Duluth, Minn.)

“Medical respite care plays a critical role in delivering health care to some of our most vulnerable neighbors, and ultimately in moving them into housing,” said Bobby Watts, CEO of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council and director of its NIMRC initiative. “We are excited to continue our partnership with the CDC Foundation to help these award recipients grow their programs and their capacity to serve.”

About Joseph’s Home
Joseph’s Home, which is a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System, is the only homeless service provider in Northeast Ohio exclusively focused on medical respite care. While men and women stabilize their physical illness in a nurturing faith-based environment, they also develop their individual housing plans and connections to behavioral health supports. In addition to ongoing medical supervision, nutritious meals and coordination with local health care providers, residents also receive intensive case management that includes development of permanent housing plans, benefit(s) review, transportation to and from medical or housing appointments, and supportive programming that includes identifying community resources and supports.

About the CDC Foundation
The CDC Foundation helps the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) save and improve lives by unleashing the power of collaboration between CDC, philanthropies, corporations, organizations, and individuals to protect the health, safety and security of America and the world. The CDC Foundation is the go-to nonprofit authorized by Congress to mobilize philanthropic partners and private-sector resources to support CDC’s critical health protection mission.

About the National Institute for Medical Respite Care
The National Institute for Medical Respite Care, a special initiative of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, advances best practices, delivers expert consulting services, and disseminates state-of-the-field knowledge in medical respite care.