Connecticut Institute For Communities, Inc. (CIFC) has partnered with Ann’s Place, a Danbury-based nonprofit that provides counseling and wellness services to people living with cancer, and to their loved ones, by giving Ann’s Place space in CIFC’s Greater Danbury Community Health Center (GDCHC), 120 Main St., Danbury, to meet clients downtown once a week.

(Left to right) Candy Dayana Dube, a licensed clinical social worker from Ann’s Place, and Shinu Simon, GDCHC Administrative Director.

“Facing cancer is both emotionally and physically exhausting for everyone in the family. When you add in one or two barriers to getting services, such as lack of transportation, it can have monumental effects,” said Shannon Cobb, President and CEO of Ann’s Place. “Having a safe location downtown, right on the HART public transit routes, makes all of the difference for people facing cancer and struggling with transportation. We are so grateful to CIFC for providing this space so we can continue giving vital supports to our clients free of charge.”

James H. Maloney, President and CEO of CIFC, welcomed Ann’s Place to the downtown Greater Danbury Community Health Center.

“Ann’s Place provides vital services to those living with cancer, and to their loved ones,” he said. “We are gratified that we can be part of that and that we can help local residents access these services because of our accessible downtown location.”

The goal of the partnership is not just to make these important services accessible by expanding to a new location in downtown Danbury but to also meet in a place clients trust. “Ultimately we want to work together in complement with CIFC -- which is already so trusted in the community -- to listen to the needs of our clients and work together to meet those needs,” said Candy Dayana Dube, a licensed clinical social worker from Ann’s Place.

Ann’s Place is here to support, empower, and be part of each person’s cancer journey through counseling, support groups, wellness programs, education, case management and financial aid. Services are available to the person with cancer and to their loved ones at CIFC’s 120 Main St. principal downtown site and at Ann’s Place’s facility at 80 Saw Mill Road. A monthly support group is also offered at the Danbury Library in Spanish. All services are free of charge and a clinician is available in both English and Spanish.

CIFC sponsors the Greater Danbury Community Health Center (GDCHC), a federally qualified health center. The center, which has multiple sites in Danbury, provides health care to people of all ages on a sliding scale. No one is ever turned away. GDCHC’s services include pediatric and adult primary health care, women’s health, behavioral health and dental services. CIFC’s health center also manages school-based health centers in Danbury and Newtown, and the regional Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program.

For more information on CIFC, visit www.ct-institute.org.