Our guests face significant barriers in accessing adequate health care due to the complexity of the health care system, lack of transportation, and distrust in medical institutions. Many of our guests have been disconnected from care for years, even decades. Our patient navigation program addresses these challenges by providing care coordination, appointment scheduling, appointment reminders, transportation, accompaniment, and follow up assistance. This caring and comprehensive approach is increasing access to needed, coordinated care and improving the health and quality of life for the guests we serve.  

Through our partnership with Georgetown and George Washington Universities, our program also addresses the need for health professional students to understand these disparities and be better prepared to provide compassionate care. 

Medical respite is short term acute and post-acute care for people experiencing homelessness who are too ill or frail to recover from an illness or injury on the streets or in shelters.  Miriam’s Kitchen is actively working with partners in the community to add much-needed medical respite capacity to DC in 2026.

Our medical respite will offer temporary residential health care combined with housing and case management to break the cycle from the streets to the hospital and back again. Our goal is to provide a safe place for our patients to recover and to help make sure that upon discharge, they are connected to ongoing primary care and have a permanent housing solution.