Our Work Today
Today, 20 churches participate in the Samaritan Center’s work of serving the needy in the name of Jesus. An initial interview and a home visit allow staff members and volunteers to assess the extent of the client’s (or family’s) need.
In 2009 the Samaritan Center assisted 1,989 families of St Tammany Parish, including 2,778 children, 3,134 adults and 189 seniors. A quarter of the families we served were new to the Samaritan Center.
The Samaritan Center receives no financial support from government sources. Local donations of food, clothing and money are its main source of funding.
The Samaritan Center actively networks with other Social Service organizations in the Greater New Orleans area and regularly meets with the Northshore Homeless Coalition and the Commission on Families. We are members of the Chamber of Commerce, The Old Mandeville Business Association, and LANO.
Serving Since 1989: Our History
In 1989, several Christian churches in Mandeville banded together to improve services to the poor in our community. Pooling resources of money, volunteers, donated canned goods and clothing, they hoped to streamline services by distributing them from a central location.
Victims of fires, floods and other emergencies received immediate assistance of food, clothing – and moral support. Single mothers and their children, families whose breadwinner had lost his or her job, and people who had suffered injuries and were enable to work found help, both material and spiritual, from Samaritan Center staff and volunteers. Then, as now, community support was tremendous.
Jesus said, “If you love me, feed my sheep.”
~John 21:17
That’s what we do at the Samaritan Center.