Hospice for terminally ill unsheltered residents breaks ground in Sacramento
Sacramento (June 8, 2022) Sacramento will soon open the West Coast’s first hospice to house terminally ill people experiencing homelessness.
Mayor Darrell Steinberg Thursday attended a groundbreaking for Joshua’s House Volunteer Hospice, which is being built on a vacant City-owned parcel in Gardenland. Also attending were Councilmember Jeff Harris; Sister Libby Fernandez, a longtime advocate for unsheltered residents; and Dr. Marlene von Friedrichs-Fitzwater, founder and executive director of Joshua’s House.
“No one should be unsheltered,; nobody who is sick should be without care,” said Mayor Steinberg. “We should never forsake human beings.”
The new community, scheduled to open in 2023, will provide comfort and dignified care for up to 15 residents at a time. The property will have five ADA-compliant manufactured homes and will have room to add more in the future.
HomeAid, a collaborative effort with North State Building Industry Association, that provides help to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness build new lives through construction job training, is working with Joshua’s house on the construction of the property. The City of Sacramento is providing a 50 year, no-cost least for the property.
Joshua’s House was included in the Comprehensive Siting Plan for homeless housing solutions approved by the Sacramento City Council in August 2021.
Mayor Steinberg, Dr. Marlene von Friederichs-Fitzwater, Councilmember Jeff Harris and Sister Libby Fernandez are the first to put shovels in the ground for the new Joshua’s House project.
Apart from being unique facility on the west coast, according to Joshua’s House, this will also be the only facility in the nation to serve patients with end-of-life trained doulas and to offer educational opportunities and internships for nursing and medical school students.
The manufactured homes for the project will go in this vacant lot.
“When talking to homeless people, their number one fear is almost always dying alone on the street. No one should have to meet that fate,” said von Friederichs-Fitzwater, who founded Joshua’s House in memory of her grandson who was homeless and died on the streets at the age of 34. “Joshua’s House will allow terminally ill homeless people in our area to spend their final days in comfort and safety, with the dignity we all deserve.”
Dr. Marlene von Friederichs-Fitzwater speaking to the crowd at the groundbreaking
Local hospital systems, including Dignity Health, Kaiser Permanente, UC Davis, and Sutter Health, will discharge individuals to Joshua’s House, and the referring health care system will provide hospice care to Joshua’s House patients.
A press release from Joshua’s House said between 20% and 25% of homeless people die from terminal illnesses such as respiratory diseases, cancer, and heart disease. After diagnosis, they typically only live for a few months. Most homeless people are disconnected from families and do not have family members who can help care for them.
