The place where homeless people come to die with dignity
SALT LAKE CITY — Hanging on a wall at the Inn Between is a photo of John Cal Robb, the note he wrote before he died and the blue plastic butterfly that signaled to his friends that it was his time to go.
Robb's death was especially hard on the inn. He was a jack-of-all-trades, handy with tools and always offering to give fellow residents a ride to medical appointments. His overweight mutt, Boo Boo, still roams the facility — one of only a handful of establishments in the country dedicated to end-of-life care for homeless people.
"If you are reading this, I have ridden off into the sunset with my fishing pole in hand. Thank you for helping me get to this point," wrote Robb, who, in the photo, wears a contemplative smile, a cigarette hanging from this mouth. "I came in a broken man with no hope and left a stronger, more compassionate and happy man. I owe this all to you."
When Robb was dying of stomach cancer in January, the butterfly was affixed to the front of his room door.
Resembling monarchs but blue and speckled with splashes of white, the butterflies signify that someone is "transitioning" and reflect the facility's policy that "no one dies alone."
The official mission of the Inn Between, located on a quiet street in Salt Lake City, is to "end the tragic history of
