Daily Inspiration: Meet James Patrick Hall

Today we’d like to introduce you to James Patrick Hall. 

Hi James, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The vision for what is now Rocky Mountain Refuge (RMR) sprang from a conversation two friends back in 2017. Their shared desire was to provide a safe, dignified, and sustainable place for individuals experiencing homeless to live during their last days. 

A working group began meeting in late 2017 in hopes of creating an organization in support of this vision. As that vision took shape, the group was inspired by the nationwide work of the Omega Home Network, and their prototype of a Social Model Hospice House was determined to be the best structure to pursue. The Board of Directors was officially established in 2018; and Rocky Mountain Refuge was recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization on April 15th, 2019. COVID slowed us down a bit, but we opened in mid-February 2022. 

It was apparent from the beginning to these two friends, and founding board members, that as Denver’s homeless population was aging there was a growing number of individuals who were left to face their last days alone; in environments that lacked dignity; and without the full-support of hospice care. People with terminal illness but no home have very few options. Emergency rooms, often a last resort for people on the street, are the most expensive and least effective setting possible. 

This need of providing hospice care for unhoused folks can be difficult to meet. Hospice agencies are designed to assist in a person’s home and are not shelters. They struggle to provide care on the streets. Denver’s homeless shelters meet immediate, short-term needs and hospice patients need individual custodial care for weeks, with privacy and stability that shelters can’t offer. 

Rocky Mountain Refuge is filling this need by operating as a specialized shelter, providing custodial care to our friends on the streets. Our staff and volunteers operate as an extension of someone’s family giving basic care like help with laundry, cleaning, and companionship. Our hospice agency partners can then provide the skilled nursing and physician services needed. 

We offer shelter for end-of-life care regardless of a person’s race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Rocky Mountain is just starting out as an organization, and we are facing most of the start-up issues young organizations face. Our biggest challenge over the next 3-5 years will be financial sustainability. As we begin to pursue grant, private donations, and public funding – our hope is that we can establish several long-term funding relationships that will help stabilize the organization as we grow and develop over these first few years. Additionally, the challenge will be to be mindful in how we scale our program, so as to not outpace available funding. The need is great, and as we start out, we will likely be overrun with demand for our services. The need to focus on quality over quantity will be a daily pressure we are likely to face, but we will face it together with our guests and supporters. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am retired but spent my career in mechanical engineering, ending it as a software administrator for a local health care firm.

I’m a Gregorian Friar (Episcopal) and have been bi-vocational for several years but working primarily with folks on the margins of society. Prior to COVID I organized the Sunday Service at St. Francis Center, participated in the Colorado Street Chaplaincy Collaborative, and facilitated twice yearly Retreats for unhoused men. Having recently retired I am now the Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Refuge a shelter to enable unhoused folks to receive hospice care.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I love classic cars. That’s probably why I spent a large part of my life in Engineering. 

Pricing:

• RMR is free to our Residents

Contact Info:

• Email: br.jp@lazarusgate.org
• Website: https://rockymountainrefuge.org/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lazarusgate