The homeless shelter at 13 Maple Avenue in Danbury, operated by Good Samaritan Mission, will close permanently in two stages this summer.

The day-time engagement shelter will end operations on Friday, August 2; the 14-bed overnight shelter’s last night will be Saturday, August 31.

The closure stems from Jericho’s mission realignment and renewed focus to serve Danbury’s at-risk youth and, by extension, their families.

Jericho will continue to serve the homeless population in Danbury in two ways: 1) CleanStart, a program where homeless men and women receive job training/experience by engaging in projects organized by the city of Danbury and led by Jericho volunteers, and 2) Discipleship House, a Jericho-run residential program for homeless and addicted men located at 22 Maple Ave. (This program had been operated by Jericho Ministry Partner Good Samaritan Mission until its recent consolidation with Jericho.)

“We are still called to provide life-transformational services and programs for Danbury’s homeless, but our Executive Board and I have determined – after much due diligence and prayer – that the programs that truly lead to life-change are CleanStart and Discipleship House, and not the shelter itself,” said Jericho President Carrie L. Amos. “At a time when excellent stewardship of our resources and adherence to our mission are both vital, we must allocate our time, talent and treasure to the programs that are proven paths to authentic transformation for homeless and addicted people. We had to make a difficult decision.”

Jericho staff is working to place our regular guests in other local or regional shelters; a small number of them will be invited to move into Discipleship House and engage in the long-term addiction recovery program there.

For more information, contact Mark Grasso at (203) 748-4764 or Michael Ronan or Lisa Siedlecki at Jericho at (203) 791-1180.