In the past year, more than 23,000 people have turned to us for help. That’s 8,000 more than the year before. As the central anti-poverty organization for San Mateo County, we are trusted, experienced, and uniquely positioned to care for our community NOW, in the wake of COVID-19.
That’s why we’ve launched A Better Tomorrow Starts Now, a campaign to raise the $1,250,000 needed to meet the surge in demand for our services.
View the campaign case documents here.
The Plan to Lift Up Our Community during COVID-19
1. We Will Keep Hardworking Individuals and Families Housed
- We’re delivering over $200,000 in assistance each week to keep hardworking families from becoming homeless (an increase of 471% over pre-COVID times).
- With the moratorium on evictions expiring on January 31, we must be ready for these numbers to increase dramatically again.
- In addition to critical, immediate assistance, we will also continue to assess the needs of each family and provide services like financial empowerment coaching, so that when their situation stabilizes, they are prepared to get back on the road to self-reliance.
- Cost to keep individuals and families housed: $7.1M
2. We Will Keep Families Nourished with Healthy Food
- We operate 12 food programs altogether, including our drive-thru pantry, take-out dining room, Mobile Meals delivery program, and children’s snack and lunch program.
- The number of meals we provided last year to this year grew from 1.4 million meals to 1.7 million meals.
- That’s 100,000 more meals in each of the months since COVID began.
- If trends continue, that number will grow to over 2.5 million meals over the next year.
- All of our grocery and meal programs have been adapted to low or no-contact distribution.
- Cost to keep families fed: $4.6M
3. We Will Keep the Uninsured Healthy with Comprehensive Preventative Medical Care
- Through our free clinics we keep the uninsured out of emergency rooms, while managing their conditions through quality medical care including evaluation and monitoring, education, and medication when appropriate.
- Additionally, our Food Pharmacies continue to dispense nutritious foods to help our patients with diabetes and other chronic conditions stay healthy.
- Diabetes and hypertension are risk factors for especially severe cases of COVID-19, making our preventative healthcare strategies even more critical.
- Cost to provide free medical care to uninsured patients: $4.2M
4. We Will Provide Safe Shelter for the Homeless
- In partnership with the County of San Mateo, we are dedicated to housing as many of our county’s homeless people as possible.
- Our shelter, Safe Harbor, will continue operating with social distancing protocols in place. Residents will continue receiving two meals a day and a safe, warm place to sleep for as long as they need it.
- In order to protect more vulnerable residents and under the direction of the County, senior and higher-risk shelter residents have been moved to single occupancy rooms. At present, we do not know how long funding (currently provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency) for these single-occupancy rooms will be available. The cost of operating these facilities for six months is $2,000,000.
- Cost to shelter the homeless: $3.8M
5. Together, We Will Strengthen Our Community
- This is the overall goal of our strategic response and a result we expect to accomplish.
- Through each of our programs, we work to build a strong and enduring community.
- With our experienced staff, trained volunteers, donors, and key stakeholders, Samaritan House will be on the front lines of ensuring our community has what it needs to survive and thrive during these challenging times.
- Overall cost to strengthen our community: $19.8M
For the security guard sleeping in his car. Or the teacher whose emergency room visit put her a month behind on rent. Or the mom working three jobs to make sure her kids have food. For all who are struggling to make ends meet, Samaritan House will be here to help. For over 45 years, we have connected the working poor to the resources they need to remain a healthy and stable part of our community.
Your support now will help our community heal today and emerge stronger tomorrow.
