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Utah Opens First Hospice Facility for Homeless

Whittney Evans
Olivia Sherill is a cancer patient and a new resident at The INN Between.

Utah’s first hospice care facility for the homeless opened its doors on Monday. The INN Between is expected to provide end-of-life-care for up to 20 individuals suffering from terminal illnesses.

Thirty-one-year-old Olivia Sherill was diagnosed with breast cancer last fall during the second trimester of her pregnancy. Sherill, her husband, their two four-month-old twins and two-year-old daughter have also spent the last year battling homelessness. Sherill says while she’s thankful to the The Road Home for providing her family shelter, it couldn’t accommodate her growing list of health needs. 

“I think the services here will provide me with a lot of medical advice that I may need,” Sherill says. “Because if I’m feeling a certain way, now I don’t have to go all the way over to Huntsman or the U. I can get questions answered here.”

Sherill’s had a double mastectomy. She’s lost all of her hair and is getting around with the help of a wheelchair, but her attitude is playful and optimistic. What she wants most right now, she jokes is a long hot shower, which she’ll get here at The Inn Between, along with fresh bedding and clothes.

“I’m probably going to take about an hour,” she says. “It will take me about a week to get the street off my back.”

The house provides services regardless of ability to pay. It’s located at the old Guadalupe School on Goshen Street.

Kim Correa is executive Director of The INN Between. She says about 50 people died on the streets of Salt Lake City last year. Now, with the help of volunteers from Canyon Home Care and Hospice many area homeless individuals won’t have to die alone.

“This is their profession and they are very good at helping people navigate the end of life process in comfort, in safety and with dignity,” Correa says.

The INN Between will accept referrals from Fourth Street Clinic and area hospitals. 

Whittney Evans grew up southern Ohio and has worked in public radio since 2005. She has a communications degree from Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky, where she learned the ropes of reporting, producing and hosting. Whittney moved to Utah in 2009 where she became a reporter, producer and morning host at KCPW. Her reporting ranges from the hyper-local issues affecting Salt Lake City residents, to state-wide issues of national interest. Outside of work, she enjoys playing the guitar and getting to know the breathtaking landscape of the Mountain West.
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