Respite to aid homeless after hospitalization


January 09, 2014

 

Center aims to provide a safe haven for recovery

From the Asheville Citizen Times - By Barbara Blake

Most people who are hospitalized or undergo surgery are discharged into the arms of family and taken home to rest and recuperate.

People who don’t have homes are typically discharged onto the streets. That often means return visits to emergency rooms or hospital re-admissions, because a medically fragile patient who is homeless is unlikely  to fully recover from acute illness while camping in the woods or under a bridge.

That scenario will begin to change this week with the opening of the Haywood Street Respite, a program of the Haywood Street Congregation and a continuation of its growing ministry to the homeless and urban poor.

A ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday at the church at the junction of Patton and Clingman avenues downtown.

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