Thanks for everything.

(Western States Insurance representatives Kim Thomas and Saundra Topalovich drop off presents for residents)

Part one of the Holiday season is drawing to a close and Samaritan House was made a festive locale due to the kindness and generosity of donors who blessed our residents.

Being homeless presents numerous challenges for a person, and being homeless during the holidays can be emotionally devastating. Everything has potential to be a reminder of a previous life where resources and finances and material possessions may have been more plentiful. It is a time for reflection that can sting as past familial relationships may not be what they once were. In essence... the holidays at a homeless shelter is rarely a topic for joyous conversation.

However, this was not the case at Samaritan House. It was beautiful chaos as a million different things happened, seemingly, all at once. Contributions rolled in from our community friends and the festivities were as cheerful as they could have been. Entire families came and served meals as well as donated their time to enrich our resident's experiences. The dining room area was transformed to resemble your grandmother's dining room. Schools sent their students to wrap presents while our friends at Bet Harim prepared an incredible Christmas day meal. Financial contributions as well as tangible goods (including many McDonald gift cards!!) made their way into our humble establishment. Presents were donated and every resident received a gift.

Many of us will never know what it is like to be homeless, but we all know what it is like to feel human. For a few hours on December 25th, our residents were not homeless or transient or without anything. There was a common, shared experience where everyone felt the same thing at the same time. This is not to minimize the plight of our residents or to pretend that all their problems melted away. Rather, it was a reminder that the kindness of many people transcended every situation in the room and made, for a brief time, most things okay.

So, on behalf of the entire Samaritan House community, both residents and employees, THANK YOU!!!!