Saint John’s Hospice seeks to be a community grounded in faith and service where homeless persons find dignity, respect, nourishment and opportunity for new beginnings. This Mission Statement guides the Hospice’s three main services: Day Services Program, Saint John’s Residence for Men and the Good Shepherd Program.

Through the Day Services Program, Saint John’s provides a noon meal to approximately 300 – 400 men every weekday. In an effort to engage these men in addressing the underlying causes of their homelessness, casework services are offered to link men with shelter, a substance abuse treatment program, medical treatment, etc. Donated clothing and personal hygiene articles are distributed to those who need this assistance.

Saint John’s Residence for Men is a drug free program with 40 shelter beds and case management services. With the help of their case managers, residents identify the problems they have which contributed to their homelessness. They are helped to actively address these problems through weekly individual and group meetings with their case manager, life skills training, mandatory chores, monitored attendance in substance abuse and mental health treatment and referral to education, employment, and other needed resources and services. When progress has been made on these issues, men are helped to identify housing resources so that they can move from shelter to greater self-sufficiency.

Approximately 15% of the homeless men served through the Day Services Program and Saint John’s Residence have HIV / AIDS. In recognition of the special housing and services needs of this population, Saint John’s opened in 1995 the Good Shepherd Program, a residence which accommodates 12 medically needy homeless men, the majority of whom have HIV / AIDS. As in Saint John’s other programs, residents are helped to address the many problems which contributed to their homelessness. In addition, staff monitor residents’ health status and access to health care, medication and nutrition.

***** NEW PROGRAM****
The Coffee House Program, a sub program of Day Services, allows 25 chronically homeless men who typically avoid shelter to come into the safety of Saint John’s “side yard” each evening to sit up for the night. The men are provided beverages, snacks, restrooms and most importantly the opportunity to interact positively with a Saint John’s staff member. We strive to open communications with them, build trust and hopefully make them comfortable to participate in our residential programs. This is their best opportunity to overcome the grinding cycle of chronic homelessness.