Good Samaritan Haven

About Good Samaritan Haven

Good Samaritan Haven is a recovery housing provider and shelter operator in Barre, Vermont, running certified recovery housing in Washington County. The organization has provided emergency shelter in central Vermont for decades and now operates several locations, one of which was converted in 2023 into what it describes as the first recovery-oriented shelter in the state.

A Central Vermont Recovery Housing Provider With Shelter Roots

Most recovery residence operators start with recovery and add housing. This one started with housing and added recovery, and the direction of travel shows in who it serves. The organization built a residence specifically for people who are homeless and struggling with substance use disorder, a population that falls between shelter systems and recovery housing systems and is routinely served well by neither. Certification through the state's affiliate came as a new program, which is the standard route for a first-time operator.

Sober Living for People Coming From Homelessness

A conventional recovery residence expects an applicant to arrive from treatment with a plan and often with income. Someone leaving a shelter usually has neither, and the gap is why so many people cycle. This operator's recovery house is built for that arrival, and the guests direct the house's activities as a community while working their own recovery plans.

Eligibility and How Placement Works

People seeking a bed meet with staff to complete an intake assessment that determines eligibility, and anyone listed on the Vermont Sex Offender Registry is ineligible across all of the organization's locations. Applicants who do not meet the criteria are referred to Economic Services during business hours or to 2-1-1 after hours. Publishing that process is more useful than a general invitation, because it tells someone what the first conversation will be about.

Recovery Housing in Barre and Washington County

Barre is the largest city in Washington County and the commercial center of the granite district, with Montpelier, the shire town and state capital, at the other end of a short corridor served by Green Mountain Transit. Central Vermont Medical Center serves the area from Berlin. The organization continues to expand its shelter capacity in the region, having opened another location in April 2026.