Samaritan Inn Report - September 30, 2008

Posted by Marc A. Sparks in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX on Sep 30, 2008

Collin County's only homeless shelter

Director's Report

Week 40/2008

September 30, 2008

There are 102 residents, 26 are children.

Weekly Statistics:

Intakes: 6

Graduates: 3

Exits: 5

Program Notes

The Gala is two weeks out and we are ready! Many people who are attending have expressed an interest in staying at the Embassy Suites that night and the hotel has established a special rate for us- $119.00- but the cut off for making a reservation is this Friday, October 3rd.

I spoke at Saturday and Sunday services at St. Gabriel's Catholic church this weekend and met some extraordinary people as a result of it- one is a Pediatrician who says she will donate her services to our children, another is a mechanic who says he will fix our vehicles (as well as our resident's) at no cost and a third made a significant contribution to our budget. I am, as always, overwhelmed by the support that we receive.

The dinner club continues to go exceedingly well- this is when organizations and individuals pay for a dinner at the Inn and then come and serve it to our residents. In the month of October there are only 7 nights when dinner will not be provided by an outside source.

Thank you to City House, Plano's Youth Shelter, for their recent donation of bunk beds and wardrobes. We are re-furbishing them and will use them to replace existing bedroom furniture that is not in good shape.

Dental problems are an on-going issue for residents of The Samaritan Inn, to address this; we recently submitted a grant requesting funds to pay for treatment of dental issues. We should know if it was approved in about a month and we are hopeful- as you might imagine,it is very difficult to be work-ready when you have these types of problems.

Nissan of McKinney recently had their annual employee party and raised money for The Samaritan Inn in the process. Thank you!

Every couple of weeks an envelope is dropped off at our front office, with my name on the front. And that envelope contains varying amounts of cash for the Inn and it is always signed: Santa Claus. I have no idea who "Santa Claus" is but if by chance he's reading this, thank you Santa- we believe!

We have a part time job opening for an administrative assistant. Office and computer skills are required, reports to Executive Director. Interested? Send resume to lynnesipiora@thesamaritaninn.org.

Story of the Week

Cindy, age 51, has lived with her brother for the last three years. When her brother invited their father to move in as well, Cindy felt she had to leave. She had a destructive relationship with her father growing up, that included physical and sexual abuse. Cindy has only had a part time job, so she was unable to afford an apartment of her own and came to the Inn on August 10th. She was visibly upset at her intake appointment and her caseworker immediately referred her for mental health services. She has since been diagnosed with depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Over the last month Cindy has received appropriate medication and been actively involved in individual and group counseling. Her counselor feels she has made significant progress and her supervisor at work has increased her hours. Cindy believes she will soon be made a full time employee and will then be able to find a place of her own to live.