The last mission of Sister Grace Miller is set to come to life through a partnership with the Open Door Mission.
La Madonna Della Strada, or “The Lady of the Streets,” will operate a new low-barrier overnight shelter for men on West Main Street. The shelter has capacity for up to 25 people. Folding cots dot the floor of the space in a grid, and the space also includes a full kitchen and bathrooms.
The building’s signage reads “Sister Grace’s Homeless Shelter.”
Miller, who currently is in hospice care, first announced plans to launch a new shelter in 2023 after she was ousted from the House of Mercy, a shelter she founded in 1985 that has been located on Ormond Street since 2016.
She was unable to attend the ribbon cutting on Wednesday due to her condition but watched virtually via a Facebook video call.
“I’m glad I had the opportunity to say hello,” Miller said. “I’m glad to be with you, and happy to be a part of all of you, and I hope it’s likewise for all of you. I love you all.”
The partnership will begin with a one-year agreement under which La Madonna Della Strada will operate a shelter in a West Main Street building owned by Open Door Mission. The space was previously Samaritan House, Open Door Mission's crisis shelter for men that also offered support for addiction and chronic homelessness. Those services will continue uninterrupted at Open Door Mission’s space on Plymouth Avenue.
On Wednesday, John Odem, executive presbyter for the Presbyterian Church of the Genesee Valley, handed a check to Miller’s longtime partner, Sister Rita Lewis, for $100,000 to support the project.
Lewis left House of Mercy at the same time Miller was pushed out.
“I learned so much from Sister Grace,” Lewis said. “She taught me so much over the years ... and I was just amazed at watching her with the people, and I'm going to do my best to imitate her and all she stood for.”
Anna Valeria, the head of Open Door Mission, said allowing the shelter to open on West Main Street helps fill a critical gap in homeless services.
“This move opened the door to add emergency shelter beds back into the community after so many have been lost,” Valeria said. “... La Madonna Della Strada and Open Door Mission may approach our services in different ways at times, but our commitment to this community, to the gospel, and to the individuals we serve is unshakable.”
The city of Rochester currently has no other low-barrier shelters, following the closure of REACH Advocacy's Project Haven shelter in March.
House of Mercy changed its model in 2022, after an incident in which a man stabbed another resident to death and seriously injured another. That incident led to Miller being forced out of the shelter. She had previously been moved from director of the shelter to a role as “spiritual advisor.”
Low-barrier shelters differ from other shelter models, in that they strive to take in anyone, regardless of substance use or any sanctions placed on them.
In 2023, Miller stood at a vacant lot on Loomis Street. That lot just off Joseph Avenue housed a large homeless encampment that was cleared by the city the previous year. It was there that she, alongside other advocates and County Legislator Mercedes Vazquez-Simmons, announced plans to launch a new shelter, although details of where and how it would be funded were scant at the time.
“We’re concerned about the fact that the homeless are out in the street, scattered all over. We want to bring them back together, as a family,” Miller said, at the time. “We care for the homeless, we love the homeless. ... And with God’s help, we will get a new place.”
An annual point in time count of homeless people in Rochester and surrounding communities conducted earlier this year found 1,194 people experiencing homelessness in the area, That's the highest figure since 2007, the earliest year for which records are available.
Of those, 73 were unsheltered, 279 were under the age of 18, and 236 were chronically homeless.
The 2024 count showed 1,056 people experiencing homelessness. That was the highest figure on record before this year's count.
Miller entered hospice care in June, and her condition has worsened since. Lewis is trying to carry the torch for Miller.
“Her exact words to us were just, ‘Take care of the homeless,’” she said.
