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Hospice for our unhoused neighbors Denver area [1]
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Date: 2022-08-17
Recent Resident listening and 'dancing' to oldies music with one of our staff.
Recently I read this Story (Homeless to Hospital to Homeless to Dead). In this story author Pat LaMarche tells the heart wrenching story of Jeff who died many years too soon. Tragically his story is not terribly uncommon. There are a few surgical respite shelters for our unhoused neighbors but not nearly enough. Along with the lack of surgical respite care, the need for housing to enable folks to receive hospice care is sorely lacking.
In the Denver area we’ve opened an innovative project to provide that daily care; Rocky Mountain Refuge. We have created a specialized shelter for unhoused folks to receive needed hospice care and we have now passed our first 6 month milestone of being open!
As I’m certain most of you readers know hospice care is designed to be in a person's home with family assisting. If you are unhoused and estranged from your family, you are in a difficult spot.
Hospice organizations are not shelters and struggle to assist folks on the streets and our current shelters simply are not designed to provide the round the clock care required for this situation.
Our mission is to offer a dignified alternative to dying alone on the street for those with terminal illness. We offer shelter for end-of-life care regardless of a person's race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status. We call ourselves ‘resident driven’ and offer (or don’t offer) whatever support a resident prefers.
The lady in the image above wanted her story shared with folks. She enjoyed coming to us and felt comfortable enough to talk about her life. She had a west facing window where she (though nearly blind) could watch the sun set and listen to her tunes for hours every day. We enjoyed her spunky spirit and remember her smile.
She had asked to be prayed for at the end of her journey. One day I realized her breathing had become labored, and decided it was time to offer the prayers she had asked for. For the first time in a few days she opened her eyes and focused on my words as our office manager held her hand. As we both said the last amen, she closed her eyes and gave up her spirit. She died, but not on the street. She died cared for, prayed for, and not alone!
That my friends is our mission and I’m hoping some folks may contact us to start such a mission in their areas or perhaps offer donations to enable us to continue ours. Thank you for your time.
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[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/8/17/2117212/-Hospice-for-our-unhoused-neighbors-Denver-area
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