Samaritan House

At Samaritan House, we believe in a community of hope through neighbor helping neighbor. Our mission is to mobilize the resources of our community to help those among us who are in need. Our dedicated professional staff and volunteers work together to provide food, access to shelter, healthcare, and a broad range of supportive services. We preserve dignity, promote self sufficiency, and provide hope. Our goal is to meet the essential daily needs of low-income San Mateo County residents each year in order to relieve suffering caused by hunger, homelessness and lack of access to basic necessities, including healthcare services.

Samaritan House serves individuals and families who earn less than 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI), which is $35,150 for a family of 4 in San Mateo County (HUD, State of CA HCD, San Mateo County 2015). The majority of Samaritan House clients are low-income residents in need who reside in central San Mateo County (i.e., Millbrae through San Carlos). Approximately 12,147 individuals are served by Samaritan House on an annual basis.

San Mateo County's reputation as a wealthy community obscures the pockets of extreme poverty within its borders. This large income disparity can cause unequal access to education, health care, and other resources. People living in poverty are often unable to meet their nutritional, health care and educational needs, and are more likely to face more substantial health problems than the more affluent. Children are especially vulnerable.

In 2010, Samaritan House adopted a five year strategic plan. Priorities included: 1) completion of the Capital Campaign; 2) identifying and serving clients who are ready to transition to self sufficiency; 3) implementing a meaningful and comprehensive client data system; 4) developing an emergency-succession plan and evaluating the organization's organizational structure; 5) evaluating community needs and opportunities for potential alliances and new program initiatives; and 6) increasing the visibility of Samaritan House throughout the community.

2014-15 is the fifth year of our 5 year strategic plan, and we have made considerable progress towards meeting the goals outlined in our strategic plan. 1) With the completion of the capital campaign, we have been able to pay down the mortgage for the building as planned for the expenses of the agency's headquarters. 2) We are continuing to provide safety net services for low-income families in San Mateo County. 3) We are implementing Clarity Human Services Software for our comprehensive client database and are building our system for data collection, management, analysis and reporting to support improved program management and evaluation. 4) We completed an organizational assessment With CompassPoint Nonprofit Services in conjunction with the Board of Directors. 5) We evaluated gaps in community services and created new program initiatives in conjunction with key community partners, including the Supportive Services for Veteran Families Programwith InnVision Shelter Network and our new Financial Empowerment Program. We have assumed the programmatic responsibilities for the County Community Action Agency and have been distributing County Measure A and CSBG funds through the Core Service Agency Network. 6) And we have increased the visibility of the agency through the launch of a new agency website, an increased social media presence, and our first formal annual report to highlight the agency's services in the community.

Samaritan House has an organizational budget of $13,078,471 and the highest Charity Navigator rating of four stars. The Samaritan House Board of Directors, lead by Board President William Freeman, uses a committee structure to govern the organization. The operational and fiscal health of the agency is strong. And we have deeply committed and talented staff members who work together to promote our agency mission.

Samaritan House has over two decades of experience administering and managing progressively larger state and federally funded programs as a single contractor, fiscal agent, and lead agency for multiple-agency collaborators. Samaritan House currently provides contractual administration and oversight of grant funding from over 50 private foundations and corporations on an annual basis.

Samaritan House's effectiveness comes from leveraging significant in-kind community resources within its programs. Volunteer medical and clinical staff, interpreter services, administrative work, and local hospital contributions of lab and x-ray services are integral to operations. Approximately 3,200 volunteers each year volunteer their time, talent and energy for the benefit of our daily program operations. In addition, we receive $4.4 million in in-kind labor, services, facility use, food, transportation passes and clothing for the benefit of our clients, which constitute 35% of our annual budget.

For over 20 years, the agency has been the fiscal sponsor and lead core agency for the County's Season of Sharing Fund that provides emergency housing and critical needs assistance to eligible clients. Samaritan House has been instrumental in bringing in $2.5 million in homelessness prevention resources, which have been distributed amongst 12 agencies throughout the County through the Core Service Network and other partner agencies. Samaritan House serves as the fiscal sponsor for State Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) funds, a federally funded antipoverty program that we administer with our core partner agencies. We collaborate with InnVision Shelter Network to provide homelessness prevention services for veterans and their families. And we lead anti-poverty efforts in the County through oversight of the program services of the Community Action Agency of San Mateo County.

More recently, Samaritan House has been the recipient of County Measure A funding that provides homelessness prevention assistance services for households at-risk of homelessness and County CSBG funding to provide rapid rehousing services for homeless individuals and families. Samaritan House is proud to continue its leadership role in strengthening the social safety-net and building partnerships with government, the private sector, and community agencies in the nonprofit sector for the collective benefit of our neighbors in need.

To better inform the management and evaluation of our programs and to meet the internal and external demands of assessment and performance measures, Samaritan House is currently implementing a comprehensive client database as we build our system for data collection, management, analysis and reporting. The ability to analyze our client data and to verify and measure the effectiveness of our program services will help us as an organization make better-informed policy and practice decisions, with the ultimate goal of improving outcomes for the families we serve.

As we continue to refine our agencies goals, strategies and objectives, we recognize that our region's current economic prosperity is not broadly shared, leaving more and more families, even entire communities, to fall further behind with diminishing prospects for catching up. Our community's most vulnerable residents are more reliant than ever before on the social services sector for their basic survival. To meet this need, Samaritan House has emerged as a leader in San Mateo County's anti-poverty efforts and continues to expand its leadership role.

Together with the Core Service Agency Network, we are improving the conditions of poverty, by advancing the self-sufficiency of homeless and low-income individuals and families in San Mateo County. Samaritan House is proud to continue its leadership role in strengthening the social safety-net and building partnerships with government, the private sector, and community agencies in the nonprofit sector for the collective benefit of our neighbors in need.