This year's Coastal Bend Day of Giving supports 50 area nonprofits on the forefront of assisting those in need, and the Good Samaritan Rescue Mission is one of them.
From the Good Samaritan Rescue Mission:
"In April of 1953, a farmhouse on Upper Broadway opened as a ministry to the homeless. Beginning with just eight beds and a soup kitchen, Good Samaritan Rescue Mission has grown to 227 beds with 34 programs to help the homeless build a new life out of the ashes of their old one. We are now located at 210 S. Alameda at Kinney, and every staff member first came through our doors seeking shelter. Some have professional backgrounds who never thought they would live in a shelter, but now they are helping, training, and mentoring others. Others have aged out of foster care and have survived their childhood and need a chance to discover who they really are and what they would love to do for a life vocation. We try to hire as many veterans as possible. Uncle Sam spent a fortune training them, and that training is an asset we can use in our administration and ministry at Good Sam. They are still serving their country by serving "the least of these". We find that many combat veterans are the inspiration for those who have been through terrible suffering or hardships and need someone who conquered their fears and griefs and use their experience to help others. Our staff members have walked a mile in the shoes of that next person coming through our door.
We have been in overflow conditions since Hurricane Harvey of last year, and we are working hard on getting everyone into a bed in one of the housing buildings. In mid-October, looking at an occupancy of 262, we decided it would be too physically dangerous to put more people in our buildings, so we began a temporary hold on new intakes so that those who check out can be replaced by those who are in overflow buildings on the waiting list. We have plans for a larger campus; but for now, we must do the best we can with the space we have.
We are faith-based, accept no government funding, and are not members of United Way. Each program was conceived by one or more people who lived here in the past or are presently here. As a result, the root of most problems can be quickly identified. Then we brainstorm with staff and other residents to come with a solution or an even better solution than we had before. We are not a copy of any local or national model. Good Sam is an original concept, and we can modify or create a program quickly if a new need arises.
We serve 3 meals and 2 snacks every day of the year, and we are open around the clock. We are never closed. We have an excellent day labor program and a growing medical clinic with a medical dorm and one hospice room so those who are about to go into eternity can be with their new friends in a home atmosphere rather than in a hospital or on the street. We have Good Sam's Canine Camp and Cattery for our residents who checked in with a pet. We love and accept people from every faith, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and national origin.
To those who are open, we share the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, the One who gave His Life so that we could share in HIS Life throughout eternity. Our greatest tool is unconditional love. Good Sam is far more than a place to feed and shelter people. Miracles happen here."
Check out the links below for more information about the Good Samaritan Rescue Mission.
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