Spotlight On
May 1, 2005
Organization Name: The Lisner-Louise-Dickson-Hurt Home
Founded: 1940
Contact Person: Polly King
Address: 5425 Western Avenue, N.W., Washington DC 20015
Phone: 202/966-6667 x 3361
Fax: 202/362-0360
E-mail: pking@lldhhome.org
URL: http://www.lldhhome.org
Mission:
The Lisner-Louise-Dickson-Hurt Home's mission is to provide full medical care, housing and
social services to the District of Columbia's indigent elderly.
Background:
It was the vision of four distinguished Washingtonians — William
Corcoran, John Dickson, Abraham Lisner, and Henry Hurt — to provide for the
underserved indigent elderly residents of the nation's capital. The homes
they founded originally operated as independent facilities.
The Lisner Home was started in 1940 and opened its doors in 1941. The Home was a gift to
the city from Mr. Lisner who owned and operated the Palais
Royal, a well-known Washington department store at the turn of the century.
In 1976, the Louise Home, a residence for women founded by William W. Corcoran, became partners with the
Lisner Home. The Louise Home has provided over a century of care to needy
Washington women.
In 1982, a milestone in the Home's charitable history and in its service to
the community, the courts determined that the Home could admit
men. Since then, the facility has been home to married couples, to the men
of the John Dickson Home and to men from the community. In 1993, the Annie
and Henry Hurt Home for the Blind joined the Lisner-Louise-Dickson Home
family.
It is interesting to see how the history of the founders intertwined. All
were businessmen in the Washington area and dedicated to the improvement of
the plight of the indigent citizens of Washington, D.C. Each stated objective
was to provide a warm, home-like atmosphere for residents.
Current Programs:
The Lisner-Louise-Dickson-Hurt Home is the only private, non-profit,
non-sectarian charitable home specifically for indigent, elderly individuals
who are residents of the District of Columbia. The Home admits residents
without regard to race, creed, color, sex, religion, national origin, age or
handicap. Designed to serve the financially needy, it provides a source of
support and comfort to people often excluded from the purchase of long-term
health care services. Each residence provides housing, full medical care and
social services to those in need.
Funding Needs:
The Lisner-Louise-Dickson-Hurt Home believes that all older people, regardless
of their income, have the right to avail themselves of quality health care.
Support for the Home will directly help the indigent elderly
population by improving the health and well being of those in the community.
The Lisner-Louise-Dickson-Hurt Home has no source of constituency or ministry to
provide ongoing funding as there is for religious and governmental homes.
Third-party reimbursement (notably Medicaid) and money received from
residents do not meet annual expenses. The Home, therefore, depends on the
original endowment and generous support from the community.
The Lisner-Louise-Dickson-Hurt Home is currently seeking funds to:
- Make major repairs to the Community Residential Facility
- Renovate the interior of the 60-bed Nursing Facility
- Fund nurses training
- Pay for transportation to and from physician ordered medical appointments
for those who reside in the Community Residential Facility

The "Spotlight On" highlights the
activities of a different 501(c)3 nonprofit organization
serving the Metropolitan Washington, DC community.
The selection of organizations for the "Spotlight
On" is based on criteria such as programmatic
interests, geographic focus, and size, to ensure
the broadest possible representation of the region's
nonprofit sector.
If you'd like to see your NPO in the "Spotlight,"
e-mail a description of your organization, following
the above format, to dclibrary@foundationcenter.org,
with "Spotlight Submission" in the subject line.
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