This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Everyone needs a comfortable place to die. And the street isn't it.
But each year, dozens of homeless Utahns die as they lived — without a home.
A new nonprofit plans to change that. Volunteers from Salt Lake Regional Medical Center were scrubbing and painting walls Friday at the future home of The Inn Between, a hospice for homeless Utahns who are dying.
"They still need dignity at the end of life," said Debra Hampton, a member of the board.
The Inn Between plans its ribbon-cutting for May 11. The hospice will be in the building that used to house Guadalupe School, behind St. Patrick's Catholic Church on the west side of Salt Lake City.
The hospice will open with five rooms for patients, but has plenty of room to expand, Hampton said.
Hampton, chaplain at Salt Lake Regional, won a $1,000 award from the hospital's owner, Iasis Healthcare, last year. Awardees are expected to donate their awards to charity, and Hampton picked The Inn Between.
The hospital's medical staff kicked in $3,000 and staffers donated several boxes of blankets, toiletries and personal items, said business development director Tammy Clark.
Between 50 amd 60 homeless people die on the streets every year in Salt Lake City, Hampton said. Their average age is 54.
"We're an inner-city hospital and we get these patients all the time," she said, "and we care about what happens to them."
Now, hospitals and clinics that serve the homeless, including the 4th Street Clinic, will have a place to refer a patient who is dying.
According to The Inn Between website, the hospital will offer "a safe, comfortable place where the homeless can spend their final days, weeks or months receiving professional hospice care in the company of people who care."
The hospice will help reconnect clients with estranged family members and, after a patient dies, post a memorial on its website, hold a community memorial service, and place a marker in a memorial garden, the website says.
The nonprofit still needs donations of money and other items, and can use volunteers. Both can be arranged at its website, theinnbetweenslc.org.
Ribbon cutting
P The Inn Between, a hospice for homeless people, will celebrate its opening with a ribbon cutting from noon to 2 p.m. on May 11. The hospice is at 344 S. Goshen St. (1040 West) in Salt Lake City.