Sacramento Hospice Offers End-of-Life Care for Homeless

Located in South Natomas, the facility provides free hospice support to homeless individuals in Sacramento County.

Updated on Oct. 24, 2026 in Eldercare

Sacramento Hospice Offers End-of-Life Care for Homeless

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Joshua's House in South Natomas operates as the first facility of its kind on the West Coast, offering free end-of-life care to people experiencing homelessness. The project utilizes six cottages to support 15 patients through professional medical and emotional care.

Why it matters

The facility was established to provide a dignified environment for those dying without housing, directly addressing a crisis that saw over 100 homeless individuals die on the streets of Sacramento County in 2025.

The facility was built with $3.5 million in raised funds and offers a lower-cost alternative to hospital care, which can range from $3,000 to $5,000 daily compared to the standard $230 daily hospice reimbursement rate.

The players

Joshua's House

This hospice facility in South Natomas provides specialized end-of-life care for the local homeless population.

Curtis Burdan

He is a long-term homeless individual who has been receiving end-of-life care at the facility for five months.

The details

Joshua's House provides three private rooms per cottage for its residents, including individuals like Curtis Burdan who has resided there for five months. The founder created the center to honor her grandson, who died while experiencing homelessness in Omaha, Nebraska.

Timeline

  1. 2012 marks the year Curtis Burdan began living on the streets.

  2. Over 100 homeless individuals died in Sacramento County during 2025.

  3. The project was developed and built over the past decade.

  4. Curtis Burdan has resided at the facility for five months.

Culture Shift

Joshua's House represents a significant move toward localized, non-taxpayer-funded solutions for the crisis defined by the 2025 Sacramento County homeless mortality count. This model reflects a growing push to address end-of-life dignity for vulnerable populations outside of traditional hospital settings.

Residents of Sacramento can expect the facility to expand its reach, as leadership plans to add three cottages to increase capacity to 25 patients. This expansion aims to reduce the number of homeless individuals facing end-of-life transitions on local streets.

The takeaway

Joshua's House serves as a private, charitable model for providing end-of-life dignity to a marginalized population. The facility demonstrates how community-funded initiatives can fill critical gaps in medical support systems for those experiencing homelessness.

Further reading

Learn more about local support services in the Sacramento Eldercare section.

Source note: This article includes information reported by KCRA.

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Should your community expand access to hospice care for people experiencing homelessness?