Plans are underway for a new option in hospice care in Northeast San Antonio.
On Wednesday morning, a groundbreaking ceremony took place for Adobe Contemplative Care for the Dying, a center that will provide housing and care, free of charge.
The home will be nestled among some trees in the 8600 block of Post Oak Lane, near Los Patios.
The mission of the center is to help provide peace of mind to those at the end of life and their family members.
"Abode is for those individuals who really need care at the end of life, and whose families are not able to provide it for them, or there are some restrictions where they need some assistance and what better way to take care of somebody than towards the end of their life," said Waheeda Kara, a member of Abode Advisory Board
Abode President and founder Edwin Sasek said the center will be the first of its kind in Central and South Texas to provide a home and help for free.
The nonprofit will be run by volunteers and paid for through donations.
Gordon Hartman, the guest speaker at the groundbreaking event, presented the center with a $15,000 grant from the Hartman Foundation.
"Those who are in their final days of their lives here on earth are going to be given the best care without economics playing a role, and that means a lot," said Hartman.
The 29,000-square-foot, three-bedroom/three-bath home will have an outdoor fountain and garden, as well as a quiet room and family room.
It will house up to three guests at a time.
Sasek estimated up to 70 guests will be cared for there every year.
"Somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 people a day are receiving hospice care in San Antonio and so certainly the need is there for people who don't have adequate housing or care giving to have a place to come," said Sasek.
Although construction hasn't officially started, Sasek said the organization is already receiving calls from people in need of the service.
They plan to open their doors and welcome their first guests by June 2014.
More information about Abode is available at www.abodehome.org or 210-967-9891.
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