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Services
Many
hundreds of people come to the Samaritan Community each
year seeking help, sometimes with a small problem, sometimes
with an overwhelming crisis. The Samaritan Community
offers a variety of services and resources, listed below,
to meet the diverse needs of our participants.
In all these ways, we provide not just an invaluable
safety net for people in crisis, but also the tools
that will help them to rebuild and improve their lives.
Emergency Food Pantry
Many
people come to us initially for our emergency food program.
In 2002, we furnished to those in need over 2,500 bags
of groceries as emergency 3-day supplies. Food that
we purchased at the Maryland Food Bank was supplemented
by food provided through our continuing partnership
with Giant Foods on York Road. More was donated
by area churches including Memorial Episcopal, Emmanuel
Episcopal, Brown Memorial Presbyterian, and St. Christopher
by the Sea. We were also able to furnish more than 200
holiday food baskets, and we distributed holiday gifts
to 20 children.
Donated
gently used clothing is also made available to those
who come for food. Donated coats and bedding helped
many of our participants through the cold winter months
we experienced this past year.
For
Christmas 2002, we initiated a new program for our participants
-- a new way to share the gift of giving. Through the
generosity of our supporters, we provided grants to
cover our participants' utilities or housing expenses
in December so that they were able to experience the
joy of purchasing gifts for their family members. Buoyed
by the terrific response to this pilot program, we plan
to repeat it in 2003.

Crisis Intervention Counseling
Those
who come to us for food are first interviewed by our
full-time case manager, Sharon Krieger, or our social
worker, Susan (Opie) Smeragliuolo. Participants' needs
are assessed, and a custom-tailored program is established
that provides personalized one-on-one support and advocacy
for individuals or families. In 2002, we conducted close
to 1,100 counseling and/or therapy sessions, as well
as 70 home visits. The needs we attend to are varied,
but they are generally concentrated in four areas:
- Financial Counseling
We provide financial planning support to families
and individuals, to help them achieve self-sufficiency.
- Employment Counseling and Referral
We support individuals who are seeking employment.
We provide transportation grants for job searches
and travel until their paychecks begin. We connect
participants to job readiness and training programs,
and provide follow-up and support beyond the referrals.
- Assistance in Finding Homes and
Shelter
The challenges our participants face in this area
have increased as the stock of affordable, safe housing
in our area has continued to decline and shelters
have become overcrowded. We help individuals and families
find housing, and we support them throughout their
transitions to their new living quarters.
- Advocacy
for Social Services
Some
services are available to people through governmental
or other agencies, but accessing these services can
be daunting. We advocate for our participants, helping
them to learn about the options that are available
and teaching them to become advocates for themselves.
To
augment our counseling, we provide a number of families
and individuals with direct emergency financial support
based on need. In 2002, we provided over 750 grants to
our participants in areas including:
- Housing
- Transportation
- Utilities
- Legal
Bills (birth certificates, etc.)
- Medical Bills
- Employment
Costs (shoes, uniforms, etc.)

Support Groups
The Samaritan
Community fosters self-help through group settings.
Regular morning support group sessions occur twice a
week, and begin with an informal breakfast. These
sessions address issues such as self-esteem, life skills,
and sobriety, and encourage participants to grow in
self-awareness and become involved in the community.
After each Tuesday morning session, Guy Hollyday offers
alternative healing to participants through zero-balancing.
An afternoon women's group addresses the same types
of issues, and more, from a woman's perspective. In
2002, we offered over 1,000 participant hours in our
group settings, and Guy Hollyday contributed over 90
healing sessions.

Counseling: Therapy
Our
social worker, Susan (Opie) Smeragliuolo, LCSW-C, has
been a counselor and therapist since 1991. Prior to
joining our staff, she worked first with children and
their parents in Catholic Charities' Treatment Foster
Care program and then with cancer patients and their
families on a Bone Marrow Transplant service at University
of Maryland Medical System. For our participants, therapy
begins with a period in which some very concrete needs
are addressed first. Many people initially come
to us with acute
issues--e.g. homelessness, hunger, unemployment, or medical
needs--and traditional therapy cannot effectively begin
until some of these problems start to be resolved. Opie
is particularly qualified to tackle these issues. Her
training as a caseworker has provided her with knowledge
of the health care system, and she also has experience
with filing for Social Security benefits, accessing
Social Services benefits, and advocating for legal or
housing rights. Once our participants begin to feel
some relief concerning their basic needs, they are ready
to concentrate on communication and relationship issues.
Private, individual discussions with Opie reinforce
the group experiences that take place two mornings a
week. Sometimes these discussions take place in the
car on the way to appointments, but one way or another,
problems are discussed and worked through. Through therapy
counseling, some very positive changes occur in our
participants' employment habits and attitudes, family
relationships are strengthened, and individuals begin
to regularly utilize medical therapies to improve their
quality of life.

Family Support Project
In
2002, we inaugurated a new program for families with
children: the
Family Support Project. Each month, we have sponsored
an event that allows families to do something new together,
and expand their life skills and experiences.
The
Project has emphasized strengthening family relationships.
Participants have been families that we have known and
served, who live in nearby neighborhoods. We have brought
together small groups of parents, grandparents, and
children for enrichment, fellowship, and a nutritious
meal. By offering a variety of experiences in settings
not typically available to the families, we have promoted
interactive encounters that spark curiosity, communication,
and excitement. The participants have developed an awareness
of the world beyond inner-city Baltimore. Adults have
cultivated new parenting and nurturing skills. Novel
experiences have provided the children with opportunities
to develop new vocabulary, to observe positive interactions,
and to learn healthy coping mechanisms. All of the participants
have increased their self-confidence and thus bolstered
their capacity to take advantage of future opportunities
independently.
Activities
to date have included orienteering and a picnic in a
Baltimore County park, an afternoon of fishing at Sandy
Point State Park, participation in the Fall Fun Festival
at the Maryland Historical Society, an African dance
event, and a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium.

The Samaritan Residence
Most of our participants are able to move
on independently with their lives once
we have assisted them with resolving their crises. But
some participants, for various reasons, continue to
need our affirmation, nurturing, and support. Often
these are individuals who are struggling financially,
using almost all of their income for housing.
The
opening of the Samaritan Residence four years ago, made
possible by the donation of a vacant house, has allowed
us to provide affordable housing and engender a supporting
family for several otherwise unrelated individuals.
These individuals combine the random strengths and weaknesses
of any biological family, with two vital needs in common:
the desire for a permanent, secure place to live and
the need for a family to come home to.
Since
1999, the Samaritan Residence has been home to an evolving
"family" of two to four residents, each living within
his or her financial means. Indeed, the Samaritan Residence
is nearly self-supporting. A healthy community has been
formed, and we are both pleased and amazed by the strength
of the residents' commitments to one another.

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