WS Chronicle

All was bright as Samaritan Ministries opened its new building to the public on Sunday, April 12. The nonprofit that helps homeless men and hungry people has been operating out of the building since December.

“What a great place,” one visitor remarked. “It’s open and airy,” with plenty of windows.

The $4.1 million, 20,000-square-foot building at 414 E. Northwest Blvd. houses an 80-bed shelter and special features like a “healing room” for sick homeless clients, a computer lab where residents can look for jobs, a larger kitchen with more room to store and prepare food, space that allows employees, and business partners who treat and work with the homeless men who live there, to have their own offices, and a staff break room.

The larger soup kitchen serves between 350 to 450 lunches to hungry people in the community each day.

The new dining area has 96 seats, compared with 47 seats in the old dining room.

The building also has weapons to fight bed bugs.

“A lot of places don’t prepare for that,” said tour guide Willis Miller, assistant director.  He said the nonprofit has several ways to kill the bed bugs, which he said have been a problem in the city.

Men who live at Samaritan Ministries must have their clothes treated when they initially come into the building. They must be heated on trays at 120 to 125 degrees for 20 minutes to kill any bugs that might be lingering on clothes.

Also, the facility has dryers to treat the clothes if the trays are being used.

If treatment is needed in the bedroom area, large outlets have been installed to handle a heating appliance to heat the beds, which have seamless mattresses and metal frames.

“The great things about adding these features is the preventative nature of them,” Miller said.

Also new are the dorm rooms for people in the Project Cornerstone program, which is designed to help men break free of addiction issues and start new lives outside Samaritan Ministries. Two bedrooms are designated for those men, who attend classes and gain tools needed to be free of addictions.

“We’re very proud of this program,” Miller said.

“It has about a 75-percent success rate. … We don’t let them go until they’re ready.”

Miller spoke of the expanded space in the building to offer more meeting space and the increase in the number of televisions, which allow people greater access to TV viewing, including in meeting rooms.

Another new feature is a room for the homeless men to use to meditate. They also can meet with family members there.

It’s called the John 3:16 room, named after the John 3:16 Scripture in the Bible. This is “where they can go in and have peace and quiet,” Miller said.

Learn more at samaritanforsyth.org.