Photo courtesy of Christ House
Volunteer Voices is written by Sarah Katz-Hyman. Sarah is a student at University of Maryland and lives in College Park.
This column will focus on service organizations in D.C. – what they do, their history and how you can volunteer. If you know of any service agencies in D.C. or have a place where you regularly volunteer, please share in the comments below and they could be featured in this column.
This week’s organization is Christ House located at 1717 Columbia Rd NW, Washington, DC 20009.
What They Do:
Christ House provides 24-hour medical care to sick, homeless men and women in D.C. Christ House is a medical recovery facility, which means it fills a gap in the health care system for homeless men and women who are not sick enough to be in a hospital but too sick to be in a shelter or on the street. Located in Adams Morgan, Christ House has capacity for 34 patients, sees between 240-270 admissions a year, and in its 28-year history has seen over 7,500 admissions. In 2012 the average length of stay for a patient was 42 days, which was up from 39 days in 2011. Christ House has seen its length of stay steadily increase over time. Staff members point to several causes of this increase including patients being sicker and the lack of good discharge options (particularly the lack of affordable housing). The main illnesses Christ House sees are hepatitis C, cancer, injuries related to exposure (frostbite and burns), diabetes, assault-related injuries, heart and kidney disease, and HIV/AIDS. In addition to medical care, Christ House has many support services for patients including meals, patient activities, case management, and addiction services. The overarching goal at Christ House is that patients will leave with their health stabilized and with the education and tools necessary to manage their illnesses. The further goal is that physical, mental, and emotional improvements will allow patients to live independently in the community and break the cycle of homelessness. Christ House is funded through a combination of grants from private foundations, contributions from individual donors, churches, and other community organizations, and government grants and contracts.
Continues after the jump. (more…)
