Curtis Burdan lived on the streets of Sacramento starting in 2012, and for years he carried congestive heart failure that eventually left his heart functioning at about 10%. Today he has a private room, daily necessities and professional hospice care at Joshua’s House, a South Natomas facility built specifically so people experiencing homelessness do not have to die in a hospital bed or on the pavement. He has stayed there for five months.
Joshua’s House opened in summer 2025 and is operated by YoloCares, according to CapRadio. As KCRA 3 News reports, the facility hosts six cottages with capacity for 15 patients, and each cottage includes three private rooms along with shared kitchen, dining and bathroom spaces. Hospice patients are generally given a prognosis of six months or less, and Joshua’s House provides food, personal care and other comforts for people who are seriously ill and need end-of-life support.
A Grandson’s Death Sparked the Idea
The facility traces its origin to Dr. Marlene von Friedricks-Fitzwater, whose grandson Joshua died on the streets of Omaha, Nebraska, after struggling with drug addiction and unstable housing, per KCRA 3 News. Von Friedricks-Fitzwater interviewed about 180 people experiencing homelessness about their greatest fears and found that dying alone on the street was chief among them. She has said the facility exists so that people do not have to face that fate.
Joshua’s House features a tree of dignity honoring people whose lives have been lost, according to KCRA 3 News. Program manager Adi Rasilau, who lost her younger cousin during the COVID-19 pandemic, works alongside CEO Craig Dresang to run daily operations. Dresang has said Joshua’s House is the first facility of its kind on the West Coast and one of only a few in the country.
No Walk-Ins, but a Wide Referral Network
Despite serving a population often associated with emergency rooms and street outreach, Joshua’s House has no walk-in services, per CapRadio’s report. Referrals instead come from health care partners well beyond Sacramento — the outlet notes that Enloe Health in Chico, Providence on the North Coast and hospitals in Stockton have all sent patients to the facility…