Marc Sparks: In the News

Gateway Apartments offers homes, independence for former homeless

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By Brandi Hart, McKinney Courier-Gazette 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. Three families that were formerly living in Collin County’s only homeless shelter, the Samaritan Inn, have moved into a home of their own in the new Gateway Apartments that are being managed by the Samaritan Inn. Located immediately across the street from the Samaritan Inn on State Highway 5, the two-story Gateway...

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You made Gateway Apartments happen

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Collin County citizens expand the Samaritan Inn’s mission Dallas Morning News Congratulations. You did it. When the ribbon is cut on the new Gateway Apartments across from the Samaritan Inn on Wednesday, the cheers and applause is for you, the entire community of Collin County. Sure, there were some major donors behind the transitional housing built by the county’s only homeless shelter. Yes, the board and staff of the Inn deserve a huge amount of credit for expanding their mission to help those people down on their luck with a hand up (not a handout). But, seriously, this is the result of heartfelt and generous support from throughout the county. For...

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Encouraging developments in helping to house the needy

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Two years can seem like an eternity. It was that long ago, in March of 2006, when I bemoaned the resistance that some business types put up against a plan to build apartments for poor residents in downtown Dallas. Not only are the high-rise apartments being built and prepared to open next year on Akard Street, but the fuss has subsided. And the city now has a business-minded mayor who stood up last week to call for more compassion for our most vulnerable residents, including the homeless. Mayor Tom Leppert’s remarks came a day before some low-income residents moved into a new 20-unit building in McKinney called the North Texas Gateway Apartments – the first...

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Collin County opens its first transitional housing

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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...

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Transitional apartments open new doors for Collin’s homeless

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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...

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Embrace the New Year with A Touch of Home

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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,...

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