My mom was accepted into the Hildegard House July 22, 2021 and she died July 28, 2021. One day after the staff helped us create a 96th birthday party for her. Any words I write will not do justice to the kind, compassionate, loving environment that permeates the Hildegard House. It starts with the loving presence of Karen Cassidy and ripples throughout to staff and volunteers. They are angels is human form. The 5 star rating is what's available and it doesn't do justice to this heavenly place. My family says, "THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!" Tim Schladand
Dying with Dignity
The initial compelling factor in my becoming involved in this particular charity was the location. I grew up in the Butchertown neighborhood of Louisville where I attended St. Joseph School. The parish and the Butchertown neighborhood have always been important to me. I was involved in several projects in that area in the past. Recently I was asked to attend a planning meeting at a facility known as Hildegard House.
The mission of Hildegard House is stated on their web page as:
Louisville’s First and Only Comfort Care Home
We provide a final place, a loving place, they can call home. A place where compassion, companionship, peace and dignity await them in their final stage of life.
We believe life is a gift from God. Such a gift makes all life precious even to the end. Our goal is to provide hospitality to people at the end of life who have no loved ones or home.
Having been interested in the plight of homeless veterans everywhere, it occurred to me that many veterans were likely to be in this group of homeless.
After meeting Karen Cassidy, the director of Hildegard House, it was obvious that she not only had a wonderful concept but also the vision, experience, and drive to make this a reality.
The final and most compelling factor for becoming involved with both time and treasure in the Hildegard House charity was an incident that my wife and I had experienced many years earlier. The phrase “death with dignity” brought to mind an acquaintance who lived alone and died alone. He had been dead for at least three days when he was found in his apartment with his dogs. Being animals, they had begun to use their loyal owner as food. If there is an antithesis to “dying with dignity”, this is it. It was time to help do all I could to make this charity a success!
Hildegard House will be housed in the former convent of St. Joseph Church. It is a perfect structure for this endeavor, but renovations are necessary to make it work for its new purpose. Many volunteers have been helping in various ways to prepare the house for its grand opening in January, 2016, and it is beginning to take shape, but there is much more work to be done, and much more money needed for renovations as well as operating expenses.
All of the above factors have compelled me to get involved in Hildegard House.
We look forward to our opening in January 2016!
Review from #MyGivingStory