Update from Samaritan House

 

 

Warmest Greetings from Samaritan House. 

 

I am writing to you now because at some point in the past you have graciously supported Samaritan House or you have shown an interest in Samaritan House and the mission of helping homeless people in the Flathead Valley.  The Samaritan House has very seldom sent such a letter as this but recently a very unexpected event has obligated us to send out a very special request.  Please let me explain. 

 

Samaritan House was recently among one of the many HUD funded programs across the country serving homelessness whose grant funding was not renewed for 2016.  Many of these HUD funded programs that lost this type of funding are now facing the extremely difficult task of finding alternative funding, downsizing or even closing. 

 

I am pleased to tell you that Samaritan House is not in the category of downsizing or closing and is in no way threatened in our pursuit of ending homelessness in the Flathead Valley.  That being said, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that this grant funding was an annual source of $56,624. This funding was used to provide housing for people in need. Additionally, the Emergency Food and Shelter Program that is administered locally by United Way is not going to be renewed.  This funding was an annual source of $5,400 - $7,000 and was used to provide food for the kitchen/cafeteria. The loss of this money is a heavy hit to our budget. 

 

There are other funding sources available to fill the gap left by the loss of this grant and they are being pursued vigorously.  Please note however that even if they do get funded they will not be available until mid-2017 and thus the purpose of this letter.  Quite simply we are humbly asking your assistance in allowing us to continue the work ahead of us until this new funding is in place. 

 

In terms of investment, Samaritan House can be viewed as a good choice.  Samaritan House serves approximately 1,350 local homeless people every year, sheltering around 78 people every night.  Programs at Samaritan House have excellent outcomes.  86% of the people served at Samaritan House are no longer homeless when they move on from the shelter compared to 72% as a notional standard for other homeless programs. 

 

The Montana winter is fast approaching and the number of people we serve will quickly escalate because of this.  If you would like to donate toward the approaching winter season and provide assistance to help Samaritan House get through the grant funding gap please send your donation to:

 

Samaritan House

124 9th Ave West

Kalispell, MT 59901

 

Donations can also be made online at our website:  samaritanhousemt.com

Or at our blog:   homelessintheflathead.com

 

We acknowledge that many of you have already donated in 2016 and for that we are very appreciative. 

Thank you so much for your willingness to touch the lives of people we serve.  We could not do this work without your help. 

 

Sincerely,

Chris Krager, Executive Director

Samaritan House