WS Chronicle

(Above: Photo by Donna Rogers- Visitors look at the wall of donors at the new Samaritan Ministries building on Sunday, April 12.)

Samaritan Ministries opened its new building to the public on Sunday for tours. Those who went on tours of the facility were shown impressive new features and much more space for several facets of the building, which holds 80 beds for homeless men.

These men, for whatever reason, are homeless. Some of the men might have lost their jobs or were in the military and couldn’t find jobs in civilian life. That could render people homeless. Without the independence a job can bring, many people lose their homes, their automobiles and even their families.

Jobs are important to people’s well-being. It’s easy to become depressed without a job. This depression can lead to destruction of self or of others.

Jobs are important to the economy, too. The more people are working, the more people are contributing to the economy by spending money on housing, food, clothing and other necessities. People with jobs also pay taxes.

Jobs are the linchpin that holds lives together. Jobs allow people to feed their families and pay for their homes so that they won’t become homeless.

Fortunately for some homeless people, organizations are helping them get back on their feet. They are providing stopgap measures until they can get jobs and provide for themselves, and for others too. Whole Man Ministries is another organization that is providing homes for the homeless — veterans — and some low-income families.  This organization, Samaritan Ministries and others like them make sure that some people without basic necessities have them.

But those organizations and others like them need help to do their work. They need money and volunteers to help them fill a void that might not otherwise be filled in Winston-Salem. They seek help to help others.

The organizations have received help from large donors and grants. Samaritan Ministries received help from a housing fund agency. Whole Man Ministries received help from several businesses. These donors recognize the importance of what these organizations are doing.

And volunteers help keep their organizations going.

Willis Miller, assistant director at Samaritan Ministries, spoke highly of his organization’s volunteers on Sunday.

“We have the best volunteers in Winston-Salem and the state of North Carolina,” he said. “I’m not bragging; I know that for a fact!”

While some people can’t volunteer to help the organizations, many more can give money, which usually is tax-deductible.

Giving of time and money is helping the economy. Eighty men are not living on the street as a burden to public safety agencies. They are encouraged to be working toward being contributing citizens to the Winston-Salem community. Just imagine if that happens. People’s lives will be changed, and money will be flowing into the economy.

Samaritan Ministries has portions of Scripture from the Bible on the donor wall of its new building. The words are from Matthew 25:35 — “for I was hungry and you gave me food … I was a stranger and you took me in.”

Helping an organization that helps others is good for the economy, and will probably be good for the soul, too