The program, which offers enriching activities to adults with disabilities, runs five days a week.
Home Away from Home
By East St. Louis, For East St. Louis
East St. Louis, Illiniois, Oct. 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — One in four adults in the U.S. serves as an unpaid family caregiver. And they all have one thing in common. They need a break.
Joni’s House East St. Louis is here to help. Joni’s House East St. Louis is a Christian, no-cost day program for adults living with disability. The day program is designed for adults so their caregivers can take time to run errands, attend school, or work a part-time job. Joni’s House also offers caregiver support groups and spiritual resources to address challenges like burnout and social isolation.
“Caregiving is one of the most exhausting acts of love a person can offer, but for too long there’s been nowhere for these families to turn. Joni’s House is that place. We want caregivers to know they’re not alone, and their loved one is going to be cared for with dignity and joy,” said CeCe McCoo, Executive Director of Joni’s House East St. Louis.
The program runs from 8 a.m. to noon Monday to Friday in a new facility at 1111 Bowman Ave, East St Louis, IL 62205. The land was donated by Lansdowne UP, a redevelopment nonprofit that is revitalizing East St. Louis one property at a time. Lansdowne UP donated the land along the Mississippi River to build Joni’s House with the St. Louis Arch in full view to help meet this urgent need in our community.
Joni’s House East St. Louis is an outreach of the international disability ministry Joni and Friends, which meets the critical needs of people with disabilities through wholesome programming underpinned by the Gospel message.
While Joni and Friends operates Joni’s House programs in over a dozen countries to meet the social, spiritual, and economic needs of people with disabilities, Joni’s House East St. Louis is the first domestic location. East St. Louis was chosen because the city’s disability rates are twice the national average. And as the City of Champions, it is worth investment as a place of deep character and future promise.
“Joni and Friends has been doing this work internationally for years, and it’s humbling to be part of bringing that same model home. East St. Louis is proving that this city can be a launching pad for something that could change how caregiving support looks across the country,” CeCe said.
In addition to trained staff, Joni’s House features amenities like a custom sensory room proudly provided by generous partners at Synapsory, a faith-based nonprofit specializing in sensory rooms and calming kits for churches, schools, and families.
Joni and Friends was founded by Joni Eareckson Tada, who was paralyzed in a diving accident as a teen. God helped her come to terms with her quadriplegia and she started Joni and Friends in 1979 to share the help and hope she had found with others.
“A few hours might not sound like much, but for a caregiver, it’s the difference between burnout and being able to breathe. That’s what we’re here to give to families,” CeCe said. “None of this happens in isolation. From the land Lansdowne UP donated on the riverfront to the sensory room Synapsory built for us, this building is a picture of what a community can do when it decides no family should carry this burden alone.”
Joni’s House East St. Louis is actively enrolling new participants. For more information, visit https://joniandfriends.org/jonis-house-usa/.
About Joni and Friends
For more than 45 years, Joni and Friends has provided the hope of the Gospel and practical care to people living with disability across the globe. Ministry programs include Joni’s House, Wheels for the World, Retreats & Getaways, and disability ministry training. Joni and Friends also delivers daily inspirational media through radio programs and podcasts. To find out more, please visit www.joniandfriends.org.
Attachments
- Home Away from Home
- By East St. Louis, For East St. Louis
CONTACT: Amy Hurtado Joni and Friends 818.575.1766 [email protected]
