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Collin County opens its first transitional housing
By JAKE BATSELL / The Dallas Morning News McKINNEY – Aaron Whitaker and his teenage daughter had only $36 and a few gallons of gas last year when they checked into a bunk-bed room at the Samaritan Inn, Collin County’s only homeless shelter. Aaron Whitaker carries daughter Guyler Easter, 16, into their new home at North Texas Gateway Apartments in McKinney. On Friday, Mr. Whitaker carried his daughter on a triumphant piggyback ride into their brand-new apartment, where 16-year-old Guyler Easter hangs out in her own room decorated with Tinker Bell stickers. The father and daughter are among the first residents at the North Texas Gateway Apartments, a 20-unit...
Read MoreTransitional apartments open new doors for Collin’s homeless
Ed Housewright writes about Collin County issues. His column appears every other Sunday. Stephen Thorpe will be moving into an apartment soon, and he can’t wait. “I’m getting more excited by the minute,” he said. Why all the anticipation? Mr. Thorpe now lives at the Samaritan Inn, a homeless shelter in McKinney, and he’s ready to get his own place. But he doesn’t have enough money to afford the rent at most places. Enter the Gateway Apartments. The 20-unit complex opens next month as a project of the Samaritan Inn. The one- and two-bedroom apartments will be offered to shelter residents at below-market rents and will let them regain...
Read MoreEmbrace the New Year with A Touch of Home
Barbara Walch A single mother of three loses her job and can no longer pay her rent. A pregnant 18-year-old is told she is no longer welcome in her family’s home. A high-tech executive loses his house after months of unemployment. These are all unfortunate circumstances that can lead to despair in someone’s life. In the absence of family and friends who can help, where can someone in crisis turn, especially individuals and even entire families who suddenly find themselves without a home? The answer: The Samaritan Inn. “We were founded in 1984 by the Collin County Ministerial Alliance and we are a homeless program more than a homeless shelter,” explains Lynne Sipiora,...
Read MoreCarpenters For Christ Doubles the Fun at Home on the Lawn Blitz Build!
Besides Groundhog Day and Valentine’s Day, February is famous for Highland Park United Methodist Church’s annual Home on the Lawn project. For the fifth time in as many years, Carpenters for Christ will partner with SMU and Habitat for Humanity to build homes for the working poor. This year is special. Not just one, but two homes will be constructed simultaneously, across the street from each other and completed in a two-week “blitz build.” Walls rise on Saturday, February 17, and work continues each Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday thereafter through March 4, Dedication Sunday. It takes a great congregation with many volunteers to pull off such a project and...
Read MoreBuilding a New Gateway
Knowing more about the Samaritan Inn’s success makes you want to get involved, MICHAEL LANDAUER says View on the DallasNews.com By now, you’ve heard of the Samaritan Inn. It’s one of Collin County’s most impressive success stories. It started in 1984 as a group project of several community leaders, and it barely survived for years in a rundown building in East McKinney. I remember the tour I took in 2001, a very quick circle around a cluttered set of darkened hallways. Nowadays, in the new, state-of-the-art shelter, you can take a tour of the building online (www.the samaritaninn.org). You can make a reservation by phone (972-547-5567) to donate...
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