On behalf of all the people of the Joseph’s House community:
Opened in 1990 in response to the AIDS crisis in Washington, DC, Joseph’s House offers a welcoming community and comprehensive nursing and support services to homeless men and women with advanced HIV disease and terminal cancer. Our organization was founded with a deep commitment to bringing our whole selves in service to the poor and marginalized. We work hard to keep our doors and our hearts open to all those who enter our community, and we rejoice in the unique worth of each person who crosses our threshold. We strive to “welcome everything, push away nothing” and commit to the hard conversations about justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Over the years our residents have come primarily from the African American community in Washington, DC. We recognize today that this is simply one more indication of the disparities produced by the racism that so deeply affects our entire society.
At Joseph’s House each person is loved and cared for as family. Our clinical staff and trained caregivers are committed to creating a true home where the values of unreserved love and friendship are practiced. We seek to provide a depth of physical, emotional, and spiritual support that transcends the harmful effects of racism and that creates the possibility for the restoration of individual dignity and profound healing – healing into life or healing into death.
At this crucible moment in the nation’s history, all of us at Joseph’s House stand with those who are demonstrating and working diligently to bring about the changes in health care, education, employment practices, law enforcement and the justice system necessary to achieve social justice and overcome the deep-seated and long-standing effects of racism in the United States. We recognize that the work will be hard and will take a very long time. We also recognize that the work begins now and begins with us.
Sincerely,
Kowshara Thomas
Executive Director
Bill Burns
President, Board of Directors
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