Samaritas’ Mission of Love

Supporting and Empowering Those in Need

At Samaritas, we believe love is the foundation of everything we do. Our mission is to support and empower individuals, families, and communities in need, and we do this through our programs, services, and initiatives. But beyond these efforts, the core of our work lies in our love for the people we serve and our staff.

Loving the people we serve means we are committed to their well-being, happiness, and success. We understand that every individual and family has unique needs, and we work tirelessly to meet those needs with compassion, respect, and a genuine desire to help. Whether it's through our affordable housing programs, refugee resettlement services, senior services, foster care, and adoption services, or behavioral health, substance use disorder, and disability support programs, our goal is to empower those we serve to achieve stability, independence, and brighter futures.

Loving our staff means valuing their contributions, supporting their professional development, and creating a workplace culture that is positive, inclusive, and empowering. Our staff is the backbone of our organization, and we are grateful for their dedication, hard work, and commitment to our mission. We recognize that their well-being and happiness are essential to the success of our programs, and we strive to create a work environment that is supportive, inclusive, and empowering.

At Samaritas, love is not just a feeling but a guiding principle that informs all our work. Whether we're serving those in need or supporting our staff, our goal is to create a better world filled with love, compassion, and hope. Join us in our All About Love Campaign, and let's work together to make a difference in the lives of those we serve and those who serve alongside us.

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* Important Notice *

Earlier this year, Samaritas was under investigation by the state for allegations of abuse in our emergency shelter in Grand Rapids. We opened this shelter 26 months earlier for children from Central America crossing the border fleeing from horrible condition; we were asked to take in Afghan youth when there was no other place for them to go after the crisis in Afghanistan occurred. We accepted 19 youth in response to this request and our long-term commitment to help youth to the greatest extent possible at the time of their greatest need. Samaritas was one of several similar emergency shelters across the country asked to take in these refugee youth.

Due to the severe level of trauma they had endured, many of them required intensive therapy and counseling. As a result of the growing concern we had for the depth and breadth of those needs of the youth and the safety of our team, we made the decision to work with our referring partners to move the youth to other programs where they could access the higher level of trauma-informed care, supervision, and medical attention that they required. Due to state and federal oversight of our programs, we are unable to share specific details of the investigation but we were cleared of any abuse allegations by the state and all youth were transferred to appropriate residential placements where they could receive the care they needed. Samaritas continues to be a state and federal leader in refugee resettlement, including refugee foster care.

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Please Contact:
Joe DiBenedetto
Lambert & Co.
(516) 637-0597

Matt Friedman
Tanner Friedman Strategic Communications
(248) 762-1430