The Center for Respite Care

James Stone, Summer 2012

While studying at The Ohio State University I met Joe, a homeless man who sold a newspaper written by the indigent of Columbus, OH. My weekly run-ins with Joe over the course of several years were humbling experiences. I gained a real appreciation for the opportunities that I have been granted and a desire to help the underserved. I logically jumped on the opportunity to create a meaningful change this summer by participating in the Urban Health Project Summer Internship program.

I did not really know what to expect when I started my summer internship at The Center for Respite Care. Online you can read that The Center for Respite Care opened in 2003 as a medical recovery facility serving the homeless population of Greater Cincinnati. It has 14 beds (11 male and 3 female) laid out in dormitory fashion. As you read on you learn that the medical side of Respite Care is staffed by a wonderful doctor, Dr. Bob Donovan, whose time is donated by the Cincinnati Health Network and a team of nurses. Once at Respite Care you realize the fantastic job that care team does managing the various medical conditions presented by their clients. What I had not read about was everything that The Center for Respite Care does outside of the obvious physical recovery. They run a HUD funded transitional housing program (Respite Care's goal is to move at least 90% of their clients to a better living situation where they started. This means out of shelters and into permanent housing, nursing home care, drug or alcohol recovery, etc). The social workers help connect clients with other community agencies and resources. They help clients with any required documentation and paperwork. Perhaps most importantly, the social workers often serve as medical case managers and patient health advocates.

As I searched for a summer project, Mary Beth Meyer, executive director of The Center for Respite Care approached me with the idea of collecting data to be used for Respite Care's strategic planning to take place later this year. Respite Care is currently in “phase 1” of their longterm goal and is always looking for ways to improve their services and the benefits they provide to the community. I worked on my project in partnership with Applied Information Resources (AIR inc, Cincinnati OH) an urban planning and public policy agency. I have met with hospital case managers, social workers, clinic and shelter directors, as well as the clients being served by many of the agencies providing for the homeless. I now know so much about the services available throughout the city. It is one thing to see a map of those services; it is another to see the sites and people in action.

The Center for Respite Care should be able to move forward with their strategic planning based on the data that I have collected. Although I am submitting a formal report of my findings I plan to stay in communication with the Center for Respite Care throughout the next few months as they draft their strategic plan. I would highly encourage others to look at the Urban Health Project as they plan their summer.