I was standing at my desk at Community Nursing Services (CNS) in early 2014 when the CEO walked into my office, handed me a sticky note, and said, "I need you to start going to this meeting." I was the Development Director, so I assumed it had something to do with fundraising for CNS's charitable hospice program. At my first meeting, I learned it was a committee of people exploring options to open a hospice for the homeless. Several hospice agencies were at the table, and CNS, being the largest provider in Utah, needed a presence.
I didn't know much about homelessness. I'd seen people panhandling, lining up in front of the Fourth Street Clinic, which serves the homeless, or hanging out in Pioneer Park in downtown Salt Lake City. I hadn't thought about the fact that a homeless person could be terminally ill and suffering on the streets. I assumed our society had a system to handle this, which I later learned many people also mistakenly assumed.
Debbie Thorpe had formed the exploratory committee in 2010. She was an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) at Huntsman Cancer Hospital. She saw too many cancer patients being discharged to the streets, where they were likely to suffer, forego treatment, and eventually die alone without access to end-of-life care. Fueled by her passion for finding a solution, Debbie kept the monthly meetings going and did her best to involve the community. Committee members included doctors, nurses, chaplains, and state, county, and city government agency representatives.
During my first meeting, the committee discussed policies and procedures, possible locations, and the technical aspects of providing hospice care. We also discussed adopting a formal name and logo.
"The Inn Between" had been suggested—a brilliant play on words that connotes warmth and comfort while alluding to the gap between the hospital and the streets, between suffering and comfort, between sickness and health, between loneliness and company, and, of course, between life and death.
This was our first logo. The tagline "Hospice for the Homeless" would change many times over the coming years. We intentionally chose blue—the color of compassion. My contribution to the design was capitalizing the word "INN," making it stand out. As the years went by, we forgot who created the original artwork. I'd love to have that person come forward!
My areas of expertise were marketing and fundraising, so I took on those roles within the committee. American Express was one of the first potential funders I called. After hearing about the project, the representative put me on hold. When she came back on the line, she said, "We absolutely love this project, and we will commit $10,000." This was a first! In 10+ years of nonprofit fundraising, I'd never gotten a verbal commitment over the phone. There's usually a formal grant application process, and the reply usually takes months. After hearing this news, I picked myself up off the floor, and the importance of this project hit me like a ton of bricks.
The early committee members I recall are Ruth Zollinger, a hospice chaplain; Dan Hull, the founding Executive Director of the Utah Home Health and Hospice Association (now the Home Health and Hospice Association of Utah); Tammy from the State of Utah Division of Homeless Services; Monte Hanks, Client Services Director at Fourth Street Clinic; Sharon Stone MD; and Jennifer Gregory, RN. There were many others, and I'd love to document them all, so if you served on the committee in 2014 or 2015, please let me know.
I urged CNS to take the project under their wing - it seemed to complement their mission perfectly. I began to invest more and more of my time in the project while juggling full-time work and being a single mother of two "tweens." Ultimately, I left CNS in January 2015 to become the founding Executive Director of The INN Between, bringing my staunch determination to open a facility and see the project come to fruition. Through this site, I'll share my stories and those of volunteers, employees, and our clients. I'd love to hear if you have a story to share from the early days. Please reach out!
Be prepared because you will hear me repeatedly say that The INN Between came into existence due to a series of hundreds of small miracles that all seemed to happen at the perfect time. For me, this sticky note was the first.
-Kimberlin Correa
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