Maria Protopsaltis, deputy director for Samuel’s House, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.7FM this morning to talk about what’s been happening at Samuel’s House.
Samuel’s House is a nonprofit organization, emergency homeless shelter for women and children and intact families.
Protopsaltis said, “We have three facilities to which they’re always full. We are so much more than a shelter, though, we offer assistance with resume revision, job placement, essential services such as case management. We really help women and children and families who for one reason another have found themselves in a tight predicament and are either homeless or on the verge of homelessness, to give them the tools and the foundation in order to thrive and succeed.”
Samuel’s House is not meant to be permanent.
Protopsaltis said, “We have designated timeframes for each of the programs. So the shelter was designed to be a 90 day program. Our second part of the program is actually designed for them to stay up to a year or two years, whatever it takes for them to get stabilized. During the pandemic, we found a lot of people that there was just nowhere else to go. So some of them, we’ve extended that and some of them stayed a bit longer.”
Samuel’s House can change lives.
Protopsaltis said, “It is inspiring, it’s inspiring to see the success, and to see the progress and then to later see them thriving with their children, their families. That’s really part of the passion for me. People turn their lives around.”
Fundraising is a big part of the mission and a yard sale is coming up.
Protopsaltis said, “We decided to do a yard sale starting this Saturday, which is October 7, from 9 am to 2pm, at the corner of 1614 Truesdell Court inside of Poinciana Gardens. We’re really inviting the entire community to come out because there’s a lot of great items. There’s something for everyone. There’s household items or clothes for women, children and men, as well as there’s electronics and furniture and toys, and shoes. We just want everyone to stop by and check it out because you will find some great things. In addition, we’re offering a 20 percent discount for anyone that is referred from a another homeless organization. So there’s even more of a discount. They’re already discounted, but they’ll be marked down even more for those individuals.”
People can donate to the yard sale.
Protopsaltis said, “We actually have several different donations that we accept and run. These were actually specially allocated toward a yard sale. And this is only after our women and children and families go through them and select the items that they need to use for their family. Those things are being brought out and now sold at the yard sale.”
The yard sale will be an ongoing effort.
Protopsaltis said, “It’ll be every first Saturday of the month, going forward at the same location at the same time. That’s the corner of 1614 Truesdell Court inside of Poinciana Gardens. It’s going to be from 9am to 2pm. There will be something for everybody. There’s some really, really pretty, very nice items in good condition, some are brand new, and some are gently used. But we encourage everyone to come out and take a look. All the proceeds raised from these yard sales will go directly to benefit the programs of Samuel’s House. Not salary, not administrative costs. It’ll go directly to the programs of Samuel’s House. I really wanted to extend to the public and our community. I also wanted to say thank you for all their support.”
For more information, click here: https://samuelshouse.org/