In Step

December 2024

INSIDE:

• Happy Holidays!

•Audrey Thurman

• Lioneil Bishop

• Final Report: Gala 2024!

• Reflection from Bekah Truss

Greetings from Everyone At Samaritan Ministry!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours from Samaritan Ministry’s staff, participants, and fellow Samaritan donors and volunteers!

We hope the above photos from the holiday parties we held over the last few weeks give you a taste of our Next Step program participants’ pride and joy in the hard-won successes that you helped them achieve in 2024. Among the goals they fulfilled were new jobs, new homes, holiday gifts for children and grand-children, job-readiness training, better health, and a renewed sense of dignity and confidence. 

We'd also like to offer special thanks to St. Francis Episcopal Church, Great Falls (see their volunteers, right) for sponsoring our U St. SE holiday party, St. Alban's, Annadale for sponsoring the NOVA Christmas party, and St. Mary’s Episcopal, Arlington, for supporting our NOVA Thanksgiving celebration.

We look forward to collaborating with you in our mutual ministry again in 2025 so that we help even more people in need! Thank you for your invaluable, essential support!

Audrey Thurman doesn't have to hesitate when you ask her why she's one of Samaritan's most devoted volunteers.

"It gives me so much pleasure. I've always had a passion for volunteering when and where I can be of help to others," Audrey says. "I'm grateful to let my light shine in service to others."

Audrey particularly loves connecting with others, so it's no surprise that it was through friends — Paula Singleton and Melanie Cooke, from her church, St. Luke's DC, that she first discoverd Samaritan, and through Samaritan, she has made more dear friends, like Carol Coonrod... CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Participant Spotlight: Lionel Bishop

When men who have recently become homeless first join Back to Basics Church’s men’s choir, Executive Pastor Donna Daniels knows that the first person to help ease the look of defeat on their faces will be another choir member named Lioneil Bishop.  

“When they see him, he’s always so joyful,” Sister Donna says. “I can tell them that it’s going to be okay, but when he tells them, they believe it.” 

Earlier this year Lioneil, pictured at right, became homeless for the first time himself. The Northwest DC native had been self-sufficient all his adult life despite a car crash that left him with debilitating ankle and knee injuries and ended his scholarship prospects after being a cross-country MVP at Woodrow Wilson High School. Most recently, he ran his own landscaping and home improvement company out of his home, employing 18 people...  CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

The sun shone particularly brightly over “Together We Rise with Purpose,” Samaritan Ministry’s 2024 gala celebrating a fresh new day for the DMV-area residents we serve.

Guests at the gala mingled in lively conversations in the grassy courtyard of St. Paul’s Center, nestled on the campus of St. Paul’s Rock Creek Church and Cemetery, soaking in the warmth of the season's final late-afternoon rays.

All the while, waiters from Mindy’s Catering glided in and out of St. Paul’s adjacent Gallery, gracefully passing trays of exquisite hors d'oeuvres of beef tenderloin, shrimp, and sushi to both the bidders on the silent auction of more than 60 eclectic items taking place inside, and the confabs outdoors... CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

A reflection from Bekah Truss, Jesuit Volunteer Associate Caseworker at Samaritan Ministry

I've had a lot of first experiences at Samaritan Ministry. It’s my first full-time office job, my first time doing casework, the first time I've worked with returning citizens — the list goes on. The last five months have been delightful, frustrating, and educational all at once. It has been eye-opening in many ways, too. 

A lot of the people we work with are functionally invisible — if they're staying on the street, people look away from them. If they apply for government benefits, they’re denied because they don’t have an ID. If they apply for a job, they never hear back because they don’t have a phone. The subsequent desire to be seen is obvious in everyone I work with. They ask how the Samaritan staff and other participants are doing when they enter our building at 1345 U St. SE. They speak with respect to me and the other caseworkers, and they try their best to connect with whomever is in the room with them.... CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

It's not too late to give to our critical year-end 2024 campaign so that together, you and Samaritan our other supporters can continue to help those struggling in the DMV to help themselves and lead their best lives! Click the button below to learn more and give as generously as you are able!

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CONTACT US: info@samaritanministry.org • (202) 722-2280 • samaritanministry.org