VIENNA – Arrowleaf has been awarded $60,000 by the Illinois Public Health Institute (IPHI) as part of Phase 1 of the Illinois Medical Respite Capacity Building Initiative (IMRCBI).

This statewide initiative was developed under Home Illinois: Illinois’ Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, which identified medical respite as a critical strategy to reduce repeat hospitalizations, improve recovery, and stabilize individuals experiencing homelessness. Southern Illinois currently has no medical respite program, leaving medically fragile individuals who are unhoused without a safe place to recover after hospital discharge.

Through this planning grant, Arrowleaf will begin working with a local architect firm to design the renovation of an agency-owned building in Anna, Illinois, which is being prepared to serve as the region’s first medical respite site. The facility will include six private rooms with restrooms, along with shared kitchen, dining, laundry, and recovery spaces. Renovating an Arrowleaf-owned facility ensures long-term sustainability and allows the organization to build a space that meets trauma-informed and recovery-oriented best practices.

“Too many individuals in our region are discharged from hospitals with nowhere safe to recover,” said Sherrie L. Crabb, CEO of Arrowleaf. “This planning grant allows us to take the first step toward filling a critical gap in Southern Illinois’ health and housing system. When implemented, a medical respite program will help reduce avoidable emergency room visits, strengthen coordination across providers, and support better health outcomes for some of our region’s most vulnerable residents.”

As a Phase 1 Planning Site, Arrowleaf will spend the next year completing architectural design work, engaging with local acute care hospitals to establish referral and coordination pathways, involving individuals with lived experience of homelessness in the program design process, and developing the staffing, operational, and financial structure needed to launch the program. Arrowleaf intends to pursue Phase 2 Implementation funding once planning is complete and renovation designs are finalized, positioning the organization to bring medical respite services to Southern Illinois for the first time.

“This project has the potential to become a model for rural medical respite in Illinois,” said Crabb. “We are grateful to the Illinois Public Health Institute for recognizing the need in our region and investing in this important work.”