Mission Accomplished
Homeless hospice was a decade in the making
By Jeff Harris
September 2025
Last year more than 200 homeless people died on Sacramento streets. Many had terminal illnesses and died alone, destitute, unsafe, no comfort or care.
Joshua’s House, a homeless hospice, opened in June. It’s the first of its kind in the west, a place for terminal patients, discharged from local hospitals, to live out their days. People with no home. People who would die on the streets.
Ten years ago, Marlene von Friederichs-Fitzwater came to my then-City Council office and said, “I want to start a homeless hospice in your district.”
Marlene is small in stature but formidable in spirit, strength and experience. She held professorships at Sacramento State University and UC Davis, and was director of research and education at UCD’s Comprehensive Cancer Center.
She also knows about homelessness. Her grandson, Joshua, died in 2014 after living on the streets of Omaha. He was 34.
Marlene’s idea for a homeless hospice was powerful. I pledged support, recalling the care I gave my mother in her final weeks.
The first attempt to build Joshua’s House happened in the River District, in an old brick building on C Street. The site needed special permits, so I brought in land use attorney Nick Avdis to help.
Avdis worked for free and stuck with the project. He helped get Joshua’s House to the finish line.
“Shame on our community if we can’t get it together to provide a place for people to die with dignity,” he says.
Many companies offered help with the C Street location. But costs related to seismic retrofits and historic considerations were overwhelming. After two years, it was clear Joshua’s House needed a new location.
Von Friederichs-Fitzwater and her friends searched the city and county for sites. No luck.
They finally found a neglected city-owned parcel on Northgate Boulevard. Avdis negotiated a 50-year, low-cost lease.
Predictably, public and political opposition soon followed.
I organized six community meetings to address concerns and push the project through City Council.
Meetings were contentious. Lies flew around the neighborhood. A leaflet claimed drugs would be rampant, children imperiled, illegal camping allowed and trash everywhere.
And problems did occur near shelters, prompted by the City Council’s refusal to enforce laws against illegal behavior.
But Joshua’s House is different. It’s a group of five houses staffed by medical personnel and volunteers who assist people at the end of their lives. No camping, no street feeding, no illegal drugs and violence.
Twin Rivers Unified School District first offered conditional support, then abruptly opposed the hospice. District leaders succumbed to fearmongering.
To his credit, former Mayor Darrell Steinberg believed in the project and helped us overcome opposition. Another supporter was Gardenland Northgate Neighborhood Association.
My successor in District 3, Karina Talamantes, unwisely tried to stop Joshua’s House two years after approval. She failed.
With hard work, misinformation about Joshua’s House was ignored. City approval was granted and funding obstacles overcome.
The county Board of Supervisors gave $1.1 million. Supervisor Rich Desmond provided extra money from his district funds. My council office made discretionary contributions.
Construction was finished thanks to Project Manager John Haskell, John Grey of Jackson Construction and many subcontractors.
Joshuas’s House is owned and operated by YoloCares, an experienced hospice provider. Operating dollars come from YoloCares and philanthropic donations. The hospice doesn’t burden taxpayers.
“Being involved in Dr. Fitzwater’s Joshua’s House has been an honor,” Haskell says. “Seeing her undying and relentless determination was motivational for all involved in the project’s construction to go above and beyond. You simply can’t tell her no.”
It took a decade, but Marlene von Friederichs-Fitzwater built a legacy all Sacramentans can be proud of.
Jeff Harris represented District 3 on City Council from 2014 to 2022. He can be reached at cadence@mycci.net. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @insidesacramento.
