Dear Friends,
Every day, I am privileged to witness the remarkable transformation taking place here, at Samaritan Inns in the lives of formerly homeless addicted men and women. I am proud to be part of a legacy of turning hope into reality - since 1985 Samaritan Inns has helped thousands of desperate individuals find sobriety, self-respect, financial responsibility, and independence.
Once an individual makes the decision to reclaim their life, they can look forward to a comprehensive continuum of recovery - a program that combines professional counseling, accountability and mentoring, housing, and employment.
Samaritan Inns works because we have committed staff, as well as dedicated partners who give of themselves through volunteering and through financial support. The human return is immeasurable - people being reunited with their families and the community as healthy and drug-free role models.
I encourage you to become a partner of Samaritan Inns and together we can make a difference!
Larry Huff, President
Thank you to all those who walked on behalf of Samaritan Inns in the 24th Annual Help the Homeless Walkathon! We would also like to thank Ballard Spahr and Deloitte for their generous sponsorships.
The money raised will be used to keep our needed recovery programs running, providing clean beds and hot meals for all those men and women seeking refuge from a life of homelessness and addictions. We truly appreciate your solidarity to our mission.
Many thanks go out to the Knights Hospitallers of the Order of Malta, Federal Association for their recent generous grant of $25,000. This gift will go towards establishing a much needed Technology Resource Center to be used by the residents in our Recovery Continuum.
Our aim is to provide a readily accessible training and educational platform to improve the information technology and research skills of our clients.These resources will allow our residents an opportunity to improve their computer literacy skills, diversify their employment searches and advance in their formal education goals, all within an environment that welcomes learning and growth.
The primary mission of the Order is to provide direct assistance to the poor, the sick, the elderly, and victims of national disasters. With the Order of Malta’s support and funding, Samaritan Inns is better able to serve the countless scores of men and women seeking rescue from a life of homelessness and addiction.
Samaritan Inns serves the residents in our Intensive Recovery Program three delicious hot meals a day, free of cost, on a small budget, and our savvy chef Ms. Frederica Robinson and our nutritionist Charise Hasdorff make it work! Recently, city mandates required our community kitchen to update some industrial grade kitchen appliances that were, quite frankly, beyond our budget. So, our development team made a special appeal to area community partners and local restaurants to see if they could possibly donate the items we desperately needed. Luckily, one community conscious restaurant group, and our neighbor, came to the rescue!
The leadership of Busboys and Poets graciously donated all of the desperately needed appliances we requested and then some. With the help of Busboys’ operations manager, Hicham Baamrani, Samaritan Inns was able to secure: an industrial grade ice machine, a 3-compartment sink, as well as a commercial dishwasher. This donation will help Samaritan Inns continue its mission to serve formerly homeless men and women in recovery. Busboys and Poets is a model business partner investing in the needs of our community. A very special thank you goes out to the leadership and staff of Busboys and Poets!
Thank you to James Young for speaking to all of our mini walk groups these past two weeks. James is a current resident of SI's Affordable Permanent Housing Program. After many years of being homeless as a result of his addictions, James overcame his misfortunes by becoming clean and sober. He is now working full time, saving money and rebuilding the relationship with his daughter.
James spoke to students at Sidwell Friends, Rivendell School and West Education Campus about the rising rate and the many faces of homelessness in DC. By bringing attention to the issue, students will have a better understanding of the cause they are walking for and the reality of this prevalent matter.
You can help too by registering to walk on behalf of Samaritan Inns in the Help the Homeless Walk-a-thon on November 19! Designate beneficiary DC073 when registering online at www.helpthehomelessdc.org. Every walker can help make a difference!
This November 1st, James will celebrate 5 years of sobriety! Congrats James and keep smiling!
It was a bright and sunny day for golf this past Friday. Our 3rd Annual Tournament of Hope was held at Westfields Golf Course, where golfers competed for the 1st place trophy and participated in contests, hoping to win the coveted BMW.
Thank you to all the golfers for supporting our efforts and helping the hundreds of formerly homeless men and women who want to reclaim their lives from addictions. We appreciate your generosity and look forward to seeing you next year at our 4th Annual Tournament of Hope!
Check out our photo gallery for more pictures of the tournament.
This week has been full of service. We were lucky enough to have two groups of service-minded students beautify our property and participate in a lunch fellowship with our residents.
On Tuesday, Georgetown University Law students beautified our Elisha House property. They removed weeds, trimmed bushes and pulled out some unruly ivy. Through the process, the future lawyers became quite oriented with our organization and all the men and women we serve annually. Some students were even offering pro bono work for our residents once they pass the bar!
On Thursday, American University's Freshman Experience students participated in a lunch fellowship and an expressive arts project with our residents in the IR. The students and residents learned how to make Frank Loyd Wright inspired stain glass windows, thanks to the very creative Roslyn Delos Reyes, Community Arts Programmer for Arlington County. Conversation flowed naturally between the students and residents, as they shared stories and mod podged their projects.
Thank you to all the students who volunteered this week! We hope you enjoyed your time at Samaritan Inns and learned about the addicted and homeless population in DC. You are welcome back anytime!
Congratulations to our community builder Thaddeus McRae, for being awarded the Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of continuing service and support to the Educational Opportunity Center. Thaddeus has referred many of our residents to their centers in order to gain educational assistance and partake in workshops. As a result, 98% of our residents are gainfully employed and successfully continuing down their path of recovery. Residents and staff are very lucky to have you in the Samaritan Inns' family! Keep up the good work Thaddeus!
Serenity Inns is a transitional living program for homeless and addicted men in Milwaukee, WI. Their 3 phase program has been modeled after our Recovery Continuum when their program director visited Samaritan Inns in 2003 and brought the idea back to WI. Ricky Gulley, a counselor at Serenity Inns, visited our offices today and told us all about the people Serenity Inns has helped, including himself. "I wanted to see first hand the organization that has helped so many in DC and now in WI."
Ricky first heard of Serenity Inns from other people at NA. Through word of mouth, he decided to check it out as he continued down the path of recovery. Ricky has now worked at Serenity Inns for 6 years, and as a result, been clean and sober for 17 years! This is a wonderful example of how Samaritan Inns' mission reaches far beyond our small city. Keep up the good work Ricky!
On Friday June 10th, Samaritan Inns participated in Deloitte's annual Impact Day. Volunteers hosted workshops on job readiness such as resume writing, interview skills and professional dress, as well as basic financial planning. It was a great success and team effort. Our residents gained valuable skills and were enthusiastic participants. Samaritan Inns is looking forward to hosting more educational workshops in the future.
Thank you to all the 
volunteers and site leads for making this day possible!
Check out all the photo gallery for all the pictures from the day.
Harriet Tubman Elementary DC Scores' students held an open mic poetry event to raise funds to help the homeless in their community. They raised $150 through a collective effort and donated that money to Samaritan Inns.We were honored to recieve the donation on Tuesday and couldn't resist taking a picture of these good samaritans. Keep up the good work!
spent the day beautifying our Tabitha House location. They landscaped the front lawn by pulling weeds, planting flowers and mulching, giving our residents a place they can be proud of to call home.
Thank you for being so active in the community Verizon!
Check out the all the beautification pictures to see the transformation!
April is Alcohol Awareness Month! There is no better time to be mindful of one’s drinking habits and the consequences that result from alcohol abuse. If you or anyone you know is struggling with alcoholism, we are here to help. Treatment is available for anyone who is seeking refuge and striving to rebuild their life. Please help us help someone who may be in grave danger of become a fatal statistic. Alcohol-related problems are rapidly rising, which means that…" One too many - drink and drive
One too many - can result in high risk behavior
One too many - people have died from alcoholism
One too many - families have been torn apart due to drinking
One too many - can increase your risk of cancer
One too many - victims of alcohol-related domestic violence, abuse, assault or homicides
One too many - one is too many, if you are pregnant
One too many - don't understand that help is available
One too many - children are growing up in a family with alcoholism
One too many - active duty military personnel and veterans need help for alcoholism
One too many - people need treatment and do not have access
One too many - are in jail rather than in treatment
One too many - can cause accidents, falls and injury to self or others
One too many - children are born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
One too many - victims of alcohol-related falls, fire deaths or accidents
One too many - alcohol-related suicide deaths
One too many - don't seek help for themselves, their family or a friend
One too many - workers miss work due to drinking
One too many - victims of drinking and driving crashes
One too many - still believes that recovery is not possible
One too many - have died from this treatable disease! " - NCADD
Samaritan Inns was featured in an article in USA Today regarding housing for the homeless. The article discusses the Housing First philosophy and the debate about if housing should be available before treatment to the homeless. Samaritan Inns is highlighted because we focus on the “twin problems” -housing and treatment. We support clean, safe and afforadable housing for the homeless, however, homeless addicts will not succeed if treatment is not provided.
Students from Georgetown Day School volunteered at Samaritan Inns last week as part of their service learning project. The 9th Graders planed, prepared and shared a lunch fellowship with our residents in the IR. While half the students were cooking, the other half participated in an expressive arts project led by Roslyn Delos Reyes, Community Arts Programer for Arlington County.
The students and residents learned how to make journals, an express outlet for thoughts and feelings during the challenging 28 day period. Journaling is an important part of the recovery process and we wanted to share this experience with our volunteers, who hopefully went home with a greater sense of the reality of substance abuse, and a journal to write in.
Thank you to our wonderful volunteers from Georgetown Day School!
This Saturday and Sunday, Samaritan Inns will be featured on philanthroper.com, a new site that showcases a non-profit deal-of-the-day where donations are just $1.
Please donate $1, because a little helps a lot.Speaker Stacey Jordan motivated our residents to use their talents, skills, abilities and resources to achieve personal greatness. He said "when you are stuck in a RUT (rough, unreasonable time), you must get OUT (oriented, unorthodox and tough)." Through his thought provoking presentation and inspiring stories, Mr. Jordan encouraged residents to continue down their path of recovery in order to reach their "God-given destiny."
In the beginning of this teaching, Mr. Jordan stated that if anyone finds his words positive and encouraging, they should put one hand up and say "I receive that!" He is a firm believer that when someone "receives" an uplifting statement, it will go into their soul and immediately change their outlook on life, which is the first step toward personal fulfillment.
Mr. Jordan's encouraged the residents to look deep within and uncover their top 3 talents to better help understand themselves and what they want to accomplish. He says that the only way to succeed in the journey to one's destiny, is by changing perceptions from "I am nowhere," to "I am now here."
Check out highlights from Mr. Jordan's motivational speech!
