Good Samaritan Program seeks donations

Intermountain Catholic

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SALT LAKE CITY — The Good Samaritan Program provides sandwiches to the hungry 365 days a year. During the 11 hours each day it is open, it serves an average of 300 sandwiches a day and provides warm clothing and personal care items as well.

The Good Samaritan is also a place of comfort where one can socialize and sleep on the porch at night when there is nowhere else to go.

Among those who have been helped by the Good Samaritan are Cliff and Rafael, who became friends after meeting there.

"I come here two or three times a week and get a sandwich, cookies and potato chips, "said Cliff. "It’s sustenance and it’s comforting to know Good Samaritan is here. I work and put in a lot of miles walking around selling newspapers six days a week, and I get hungry. When I’m up in this area, I come here; it’s convenient."

Cliff also enjoys talking with the volunteers who answer the door. "They tell me they need more volunteers," he said.

The program requires more than 200 volunteers to function. Sometimes when Cliff stops by for an evening sandwich, he’s had to wait an hour or more because no one was there to answer the door, he said.

Rafael, who has been going to the Good Samaritan since last spring, agreed that he and others have had to wait for a sandwich or go away hungry because no volunteer was available.

"It’s good they have this [Good Samaritan] here," he said. "It’s a nice environment. There aren’t drugs and fighting like you find in the shelters. I’ve slept here several times, at least there is a roof over your head. I know people who have been coming here for more than 10 years. They adopt this as a lifestyle.

"You never know when you are going to find yourself having mental problems or become homeless," Rafael continued. "When I was in my 30s I had the white fence, the house and two cars. I was married, but I got into alcohol and got a divorce and lost everything. Now I’m homeless. The last thing you need to do is get comfortable in an environment that is degrading."

The poor are often stereotyped as creating their own problems, said Rafael. "Yes, we’ve made some bad choices, but we are all vulnerable," he said.

"It’s heartbreaking to see these people come, especially the little children," said Debbie Allred, Good Samaritan volunteer coordinator. "We’re seeing more families with children who need diapers, blankets and coats for the kids."

The Good Samaritan’s annual appeal is underway; it is in need of coats, hats, socks, razors, travel-size toiletries, toothpaste and tooth brushes.

"We need coats for men, women and children, but we get the most requests for socks," Allred said. "Their socks get wet and they have no way to dry them and then their feet get cold."

The Good Samaritan Program is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Volunteers receive training and can serve in three-hour shifts beginning at 9 a.m. The day’s last shift is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. At Easter and Christmas, youth groups often do sock and coat drives for the program, and put together hygiene kits. The Knights of Columbus also help collect coats at Christmas.

To donate, call Debbie at 801-328-8941, ext. 101.