Four Generations at Joy's House Dementia Care

Little house, big dreams

Nurturing a safe and loving community devoted to comfort and care.

Tina McIntosh founded Joy’s House in 1999 at the age of 27. She had dreamed of a place – an inviting, warm and homelike location – to care for aging and challenged adults during the day.

After welcoming Joy’s House first Guest (client) in 2000, the need for adult day services grew exponentially, necessitating the small farmhouse with borrowed furniture we started with be renovated into the 12,000 square feet home in Broad Ripple house and an additional “cozy” house for adult day services on the southside at UIndy.

Joy’s House became one of the first adult days to offer caregiver support, recognizing that a life-altering diagnosis doesn’t just affect the individual, but the entire family, and especially the primary family caregiver. An innovator of caregiver support, Joy’s House has lead the way at both the state and national level with our creativity, collaboration, and leadership.

And we believe that in life, it’s not just about what you do, it’s how you do it. Our values have been guiding Joy’s House since the beginning. Each value resonates and is represented in our work – in how we provide care, engage our community, and how we treat each other. We are committed to understanding our place as individuals, and as an organization, in moving our communities into racial and economic equity guided by these values.

At Joy’s House, we envision a world where all individuals with life-altering diagnoses and their families are living fulfilled lives of knowledge, choice, and comfort. And we are proud to be leaders in this vision.

We celebrate our value of individuality, understanding that each team member brings with them their unique expertise that elevates our Joy’s House strengths and helps us to innovate new programs.

What’s in a name? A whole lot we’ve found! And ours doesn’t represent a particular person, but rather an emotion we strive to provide to our families – joy!

The community we’ve been blessed to build at Joy’s House over the years has positively impacted the lives of thousands of caregiving families, and we’re not done.

Volunteers at Joy's House celebrating at Gala

We celebrate our value of individuality, understanding that each team member brings with them their unique expertise that elevates our Joy’s House strengths and helps us to innovate new programs.

What’s in a name? A whole lot we’ve found! And ours doesn’t represent a particular person, but rather an emotion we strive to provide to our families – joy!

The community we’ve been blessed to build at Joy’s House over the years has positively impacted the lives of thousands of caregiving families, and we’re not done.

Volunteers serving desserts at Joy's House
Volunteers at Joy's House celebrating at Gala

We celebrate our value of individuality, understanding that each team member brings with them their unique expertise that elevates our Joy’s House strengths and helps us to innovate new programs.

What’s in a name? A whole lot we’ve found! And ours doesn’t represent a particular person, but rather an emotion we strive to provide to our families – joy!

The community we’ve been blessed to build at Joy’s House over the years has positively impacted the lives of thousands of caregiving families, and we’re not done.

Volunteers serving desserts at Joy's House

Annual Report

2022 – 2023

Joy’s House is pleased to share our 2022-2023 Annual Report with the community. Details include stats from both of our locations from January 1 – December 31, 2023.

Updated numbers are published each spring.

Annual Report

Joy’s House FAQ

Find the answers to frequently asked questions about Joy’s House.

Joy’s House is a not-for-profit adult day service. We host Guests (clients) seeking safety, companionship and engagement in community. Many of our Guests are no longer able to stay at home alone safely due to basic aging or a variety of diagnoses. Joy’s House services are designed for those with a wide range of abilities and interests.

Joy’s House has two locations in Indianapolis, Indiana.

  • Joy’s House Broad Ripple is located at 2028 E. Broad Ripple Avenue, just west of Keystone Avenue.
    View map
  • Joy’s House at UIndy is located at 1615 E. Castle Avenue, just south of the University of Indianapolis campus.
    View map

Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

We host Guests (clients) who either can’t stay home alone and adults who are simply getting older. Many are living with dementia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, are recovering from strokes, have diagnosed mental challenges, or other medical challenges.
Learn more about Joy’s House adult day services.

The medication policy and procedure at Joy’s House is fairly extensive, but bottom line is this – if your loved one can swallow a prescribed medication, needs additional supervision in regard to checking blood sugar levels, administering syringed medication or something of this nature, we can help. Let’s talk.

Yes. We are happy to assist our Guests that need assistance in the restroom. It is our goal to make sure that our Guests are clean and comfortable at all times.

Keep in mind that most families are not trained medically and care for their loved one for the majority of the day. All staff is trained in CPR, first aid, and transferring, but Joy’s House is a non-medical model Adult Day Service. Joy’s House provides care and activities to Guests is a safe and welcoming space. Adult day services also provide respite to caregivers during the day.

  1. The potential Guest must be over the age of 18.
  2. He or she must be able to take care of basic needs independently.
  3. If medication is needed the Guest must be able to swallow it without assistance.

You and your loved one are greeted with a smiling face as soon as you enter our front door. “Coffee and conversation” begins as we reminisce about this day in history, followed by many well-planned physically and mentally stimulating activities throughout the day. You may find us stretching during chair aerobics, laughing as we knock down bowling pins or singing familiar songs during karaoke. During nice weather our garden is accessible at all times. Lunch, provided by American Village in Broad Ripple and by Forest Creek Village on the South side, is served family-style, and the fantastic menu is mailed to you each month so you know what to look forward to each day. An afternoon snack may be as fun as elephant ears or as entertaining as happy hour (non-alcoholic, of course!). No matter what, we make sure to keep your loved one safe and occupied, but if he or she needs a moment of quiet, we can provide that too.

We have many Guests who visit with us each day. Others have a schedule that fits their family’s varying needs. We can work with you no matter the need of your family, but do encourage a regular schedule so that your loved one can get to know us and we can get to know him or her. Consistency is important for all of us, and after all, we want your loved one to look forward to our time together.

A full day of service includes a morning snack, lunch and an afternoon snack, as well as activity costs $80 per day.

We accept Aged and Disabled (A&D) Medicaid Waiver, CHOICE, and your long-term care insurance may have a reimbursement policy available.

We want all families to know that we don’t want finances to stop you from coming to Joy’s House. If money is an issue, let’s talk and we will do everything in our power to make sure that we can work together through our Guest Scholarship Program.

Joy’s House is pleased to offer services, programs and educational opportunities to family caregivers caring for an aging or disabled loved one. Joy’s House is particularly interested in supporting you as the caregiver. For Joy’s House families we do this through daily interaction, Annual Meetings, family meals, bathing services and our Caregiver Resource Area, just to name a few. We also have services open to caregivers in the greater community even if your loved one is not a Guest at Joy’s House.
Learn more >

  1. Introductory Inquiry Phone Call (approx. 20 minutes, optional)
  2. Initial Tour of Joy’s House (approx. 30 minutes, optional – please make an appointment)
  3. Formal Assessment (typically 1-2 hours, required)

  1. When someone calls to inquire about services, we have a very natural and simple conversation over the phone. We can usually tell by the conversation if the potential Guest sounds like he or she might be a good fit at Joy’s House and if we might be a good fit for their needs and desires. If there is interest in our services, we invite the family to visit Joy’s House and participate in a more formal assessment.

  • Physical examination paperwork (Joy’s House can provide in advance)
  • Doctor’s recommendation (Joy’s House can provide in advance)
  • List of all medications taken by loved one on a regular basis
  • List of all doctors and contact information
  • Legal paperwork, including PDA and Living Will

If Joy’s House isn’t the right fit, we do everything in our power to make sure that they receive the proper care from another venue.

It is unbelievable! Statistics show that one out of every three persons is a family caregiver for a loved one. This affects everyone involved—the aging adult, the caregiver, the caregiver’s employer and the community at large. Joy’s House is focused on helping in all of these areas. The Guest gets to enjoy visits and is in a safe environment, the family caregiver gets mental and physical relief, the employer gets a more attentive and less stressed employee and the public receives educational opportunities through our community programming.

Two Locations

Joy’s House welcomes Guests at two Indianapolis adult day service locations.

Joy's House Broad Ripple location

Joy’s House Broad Ripple

2028 E. Broad Ripple Ave.
Indianapolis, Indiana 46220
317-254-0828

Open from 8:00am – 5:00pm, Monday – Friday

Directions >
 Virtual Tour >

Joy's House UIndy

Joy’s House at UIndy

1615 E. Castle Ave.
Indianapolis, Indiana 46227
317-737-2515

Open from 8:00am – 5:00pm, Monday – Friday

Directions >

News & Updates

Stay up-to-date with Joy’s House stories and happenings.

  • Joy’s House: Premier Dementia Day Care Services in Indianapolis

    By Published On: September 4th, 2024
    Four Generations at Joy's House Dementia Care

    Caring for a loved one with dementia can be challenging. If you're in Indianapolis, Joy's House provides top-notch dementia day care and caregiver support services. This

  • Joy’s House: Premier Parkinson’s Day Care Services in Indianapolis

    By Published On: September 4th, 2024
    Adult Day Services at Joy's House

    Helping a loved one manage Parkinson's disease can be overwhelming. Joy's House in Indianapolis is here to provide expert Parkinson's day care services and caregiver support.

  • CarDon & Associates Expands Westfield Community

    By Published On: May 15th, 2024

    Copper Trace Joy's House Friends, Senior living management company CarDon & Associates, is excited to announce an expansion of its Westfield community, Copper Trace, which is

  • Matching Gift Opportunity

    By Published On: March 19th, 2023

    THIS JUST IN! Correspondent Patrick Johnson is sharing an exciting matching gift opportunity. Check out the video for more. By donating today, you are helping

  • Broad Ripple House Tour

    By Published On: October 11th, 2021

    2021 Broad Ripple Home Tour Joy's House was recently featured in the 2021 Broad Ripple Home Tour. Over the weekend - September 18-19th - 160 visitors

  • A Note from Tina

    By Published On: June 22nd, 2020

    A note from Tina McIntosh, Founder & President of Joy’s House. Published June 22, 2020. It feels great to be able to say…So much is happening

  • A Volunteer’s Viewpoint

    By Published On: May 20th, 2020

    This feedback comes from a Joy's House volunteer, Paul. Serving our Joy’s House community is made possible through the work and the compassion of our volunteers.

  • A Note from Tina

    By Published On: May 6th, 2020

    A note from Tina McIntosh, Founder & President of Joy's House. Published May 6, 2020. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never needed a good

  • Introducing The Hau’oli Project!

    By Published On: April 20th, 2020

    For caregivers:Are you a caregiver who is feeling overwhelmed?  Do you know anyone (family/friend/co-worker) who is caring for a loved one during this time of isolation

  • A Note from Tina

    By Published On: March 31st, 2020

    Well…here we are. Like most of you, we are sheltering in the comfort of our own homes for the next few weeks. The Indiana Division of

We are honored to be a proud recipient of the following grants:

Johnson County Community Foundation
Lilly Endowment
Noyes Foundation
Carl R. Hendrickson Family Foundation
Dalton Family Foundation
Healthcare Initiatives Inc.
I’m Still Here
The Indianapolis Foundation

“I firmly believe that Joy’s House provides an invaluable resource for Indianapolis. The guests are well served, and the guests’ families are supported in a meaningful way. It is a beautiful model of care. I hope the donation can further advance the excellent care-driven services.”

Ellen

“Caring people in a warm, loving environment. It truly feels like home.”

Broad Ripple Caregiver

“Each guest is accepted at their level and is encouraged but never forced into participation. Such a warm, positive, loving environment is a huge source of comfort to the family of each guest.❤️”

Susie