End-of-Life Care

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Joseph’s House welcomes homeless men and women with advanced HIV disease or terminal cancer. We provide residents with 24-hour nursing and personal care services, and foster the opportunity for shared community life with family-style meals and the companionship of other residents, staff, and volunteers. Residents receive medical case management, as well as support for addiction recovery and grief counseling, when appropriate.

The Joseph’s House care team includes registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, personal care aides, and numerous dedicated volunteers. Staff and volunteers are continually trained and supported in the practice of unconditional love and justice. We seek to practice compassionate care so that the act of service itself becomes a source of healing, both for the served and the server. Within our practice of relationship-centered care, both the residents and those who assist them have the capacity to grow in receiving and giving love.

vigilMany of the men and women who come to Joseph’s House arrive as hospice patients in need of nurturing care in their final months and weeks. They are enveloped in a web of care and support that seeks to enhance their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. We believe that no one should die alone and members of our community keep vigil with residents who are dying. In some cases, the men and women with HIV who come as hospice patients find the will and support they need to live while in residence here and, if so, we work with them to get stronger, stabilize their health, and return to independent living. While our primary mission is to those with HIV, as space is available, we also welcome men and women with terminal cancer.