Christ House

Our overarching goal is that patients will leave Christ House stabilized, with the tools and education necessary to manage their health problems. The further goal is that these physical and emotional improvements will allow them to live independently.

Hallmarks of Christ House’s care are patient education, advocacy, and care coordination. Many of our patients come to us with low health literacy, and staff members are able to invest the necessary time to build trust with patients and explain their illnesses. We carry this process outside of Christ House through our patient transportation and escort program. All outside patient care is coordinated by staff members and we provide secure transportation to and from appointments. Additionally, patients are accompanied by an escort (a volunteer, or, if necessary, a member of the nursing staff) who helps the patient navigate the health care system and relays important medical information back to providers at Christ House.

All of these processes taken together offer homeless patients the best solution to problem of poor and sporadic health care access. This care model runs counter to the fragmented care that homeless typically receive and offers them a real chance to regain health.

Christ House's approach has been developed and refined through our experience during this time. We are skilled in not only addressing our patients’ medical problems, but also in helping them navigate the barriers that they face. The three strategies that are most important to this work are maintaining linkages and partnerships with other agencies, providing intensive education and advocacy for our patients, and ensuring that all patients receive a mental health evaluation. These strategies address our patients’ high level of need after many years of neglect. The extended time we spend with our patients is the most crucial part of our work—because we are a residential facility, we are able to take the one-on-one time that is necessary to build trust, respond to our patients’ needs, and clear any bureaucratic hurdles.

Christ House has achieved remarkable results for the vulnerable homeless patients that we serve. At bare minimum, for each homeless patient that walks through our doors, we are able to offer them a home an environment of hospitality, caring, dignity, and respect. For many, this is the first time that have experienced this after years of social isolation of living on the streets. This environment opens patients up to possibility of positive life change and leaving the streets for good. Christ House has also generated valuable health care savings and health gains for Washington, DC. As the sole provider of a unique service, Christ House works daily to provide quality health care to one of the most vulnerable populations in the city—men experiencing homelessness who are medically fragile. Many patients come to us after years of neglecting their health and experiencing costly complications of chronic disease that would otherwise be manageable if they were no