Mary’s Home, Cleveland’s first provider focused on the physical and mental health needs of medically fragile women experiencing homelessness, will open its doors in December through generous commitments of nearly $1 million, leaders of Joseph’s Home today announced.
It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the unexpected passing of Board of Directors member and friend, Dr. Lloyd Cook. Dr. Cook passed away on Monday, April 19 after a brief illness. Joseph’s Home extends our deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Dr. Cook.
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.
Joseph’s Home hosted its annual celebration of the Feast of St. Joseph March 19. Joseph’s Home board members, friends and staff came together virtually to celebrate the Feast of Saint Joseph with a Mass in honor of our patron saint. Many thanks to Fr. Nicholaus Mtey for officiating Mass, Anne Marie Moore and Carmen Massaro for lending their musical talents, and those in attendance.
Perseverance in Hope: The Annual Joseph’s Home Benefit Luncheon will be held virtually September 28, 2021. Be on the lookout for updates coming soon at www. josephshome.com/events/luncheon/. The luncheon will celebrate the remarkable medically-fragile homeless individuals in Northeast Ohio regaining their health and housing stability at Joseph’s Home.
It is with great pleasure that we introduce our newest member of the Joseph’s Home Board of Directors and the campaign chair for the Mary’s Home Capital Campaign, Jeanne Colleran Weaver, PhD. Dr. Colleran is the associate director of the Rule of Law Institute at Loyola University Chicago. The institute, a research center in the Loyola School of Law, addresses issues of equity, accessibility, human rights and conflict resolution.
The roots of Joseph’s Home were planted in 1851 when the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine (CSA) arrived in Cleveland from France to serve as the city’s first public health nurses. The first CSA sisters quickly went to work serving the health, human service and educational needs of Cleveland’s most impoverished and vulnerable residents, and have been doing so ever since.
“We can’t return to normal.” These words were spoken by my friend and colleague, Angela D’Orazio, of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland. This may sound strange in this time of deep longing for things to feel familiar, but what Angela said and what I believe is that “normal” for those experiencing homelessness is awful and unacceptable. The coronavirus pandemic has taught me that things cannot simply return to normal, or we have missed the chance of our lifetimes to make things better.
Medical stability is measured by improvements made when a resident is at Joseph’s Home. Some markers of stability are more easily identifiable than others, such as coming in with an open wound and having the wound heal, or coming in with cancer and leaving cancer free. Other markers are less obvious but can still be measured, like a reduction in outward symptoms.