A Glimmer of an Idea Becomes Reality

It was a cool winter evening in 1985, and a number of parishioners were headed into the Church of the Redeemer for a meeting. The lawn sprinkler system came on and out of the bushes came a woman named Joy. She was homeless and living on the church grounds.

The parishioners took Joy inside, helped dry her off, provided food and even took up a collection so she might spend the night in a motel. This one event got them thinking—if we have a woman living on our grounds, maybe Sarasota has a homeless problem. The subject became a vestry project and in 1989 they got together with five other downtown churches to form what eventually became Resurrection House.

It was at this point that the concept for Resurrection House went before the Sarasota City Commissioners for their approval. After hearing arguments from both sides (pros and cons), the initial vote was two in favor and two against. It took over twenty minutes of discussion before the final vote in favor of approval was given.

And So We Began………October 19, 1989

Original Mission Statement: Resurrection House is a faith-based resource center committed to the alleviation of the suffering of the homeless by offering physical, emotional and spiritual help and by serving as a bridge from despair to dignity.

For the first 18 years, Bob Kyllonen served as Executive Director. Upon his retirement, David Proch moved from Assistant Director to the top post. Development Director, Bill Wilson, followed Proch in 2016 as Executive Director.