Given much thought to where homeless moms recuperate after giving birth? What if there were complications? Where do homeless families go if they are discharged from the hospital and need follow-up recuperative care? Where do homeless children recuperate after undergoing surgery? Until The Healing House, the answer was the streets, with no ability for home health providers to provide follow-up recuperative care.
In 2017, the Madison Area Urban Ministry (MUM) opened this first ever medical respite facility in Wisconsin, located in the neighborhood of University Heights. The Healing House – “A healing place for homeless families” became the only safe haven for homeless people to rest and recover before and after hospitalization.
When this home was purchased, it required updating before it could be used for the families in need. When presented with the opportunity to help, it wasn’t a matter of “if” Sweeney would help, but rather “when” they would get started.
Immediately, in an effort to keep costs to a minimum, Sweeney partnered with Operation Fresh Start, another charitable organization in Madison, Wisconsin that provides education, mentoring and employment training to adolescents and young adults in the area.
In this partnership, the Sweeney team would volunteer their services at the Healing House, overseeing the project. Then, Tim Sweeney would mentor the youth at Operation Fresh Start to also work on the project. This win-win situation created an opportunity for Madison’s youth to receive on-the-job carpentry skills training under his tutelage, while participating in something incredibly rewarding. It also gave The Healing House the important residential renovation they needed, and otherwise would not have been able to afford.
Lane Brown and Rich Deegan are two Sweeney field staff who work on The Healing House project. “We love working on projects like this, said Lane Brown, Sweeney’s Project Manager and Architectural Designer. “The work is so gratifying. We not only get to make a difference to the families at The Healing House, we also get to share our passion for the trade with young adults who aren’t yet decided on what to do with their lives.”
“Building a better future for everyone involved is a privilege and an honor,” admits Sweeney owner, Tim Sweeney. “I am particularly passionate about teaching young adults a valuable trade skill that offers a very promising future for many. Preserving the integrity of high quality craftsmanship and leaving behind a legacy is precisely what this company is all about.”
When you remodel with Sweeney, you support the skilled trades.
