SIDNEY — Samaritan Works Inc., a faith-based, nonprofit organization devoted to leading substance abusers to successful recovery, will dedicate its new offices and host a fundraising dinner in June.
During the open house dedication from 5 to 6 p.m., June 8, a pastor will bless the office sat 130 N. Main Ave., and Executive Director Sheila Lundy will give an update on current organization projects. A donor wall will be unveiled and a door prize will be awarded.
The buffet dinner, scheduled to begin at 5 p.m., June 24, in the Connection Point Church of God, 1510 Campbell Road, will include a keynote address at 7 p.m. by Christina Ryan Claypool, of Troy. Her topic will be “A Repurposed Life—One Day at at Time.” Samaritan Works clients also will speak, as will former director Mike Martin. There will be door prizes and a silent auction.
Tickets to the dinner cost $30. Tickets to hear only the speaker cost $10. They are available at the Samaritan Works office, the High Grounds Cafe, 705 Fair Road; Gallery 2:Ten, 684 Fair Road; Re:Fresh Home Decor, 1709 Wapakoneta Ave.; Sidney First United Methodist Church, 230 E. Poplar St.; and Alvetro Orthodontics, 1102 Fairington Drive.
Tickets for the dinner must be purchased by June 16. Tickets for the speaker only will available until June 24 and at the door.
Lundy became the executive director in March, after serving on the Samaritan Works board. She oversees two recovery houses, Serenity House for men and Amelia House for women, and a newly-acquired apartment building, Horizon House, for program graduates.
Each house has a paid manager. There are also a part-time administrative assistant and an outreach coordinator on the staff.
Residents must pay $100 per week in rent. They have access to social craft activities once a month, financial management classes and Bible study. Lundy also maintains a small pantry of food, clothing, toiletries, paper products and cleaning supplies for the residents’ use.
She hopes the fundraiser will bring in $4,000. The organization recently was the recipient of significant grants by Honda and the Community Foundation of Shelby County. The latter, for $2,400, funded an upgrading of the drug use screening tool used by program participants. The Honda grant, for $9,000, supplied replacement windows in the houses.
Lundy said the event speakers will focus on solving the problem of addiction.
“We know the negative side of the problem,” she said. “We don’t hear enough about what do we do to solve the problem. We want people to know there’s hope and people can live a purposeful life in recovery.” At the dinner, there will be tables of printed information available detailing resosurces available to help overcome addiction, including the Shelby County Counseling Center, Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Families of Addicts and Celebrate Recovery.
“We assist residents with finding employment, learning life skills and rebuilding turst witht he community,” a release says. “Graduates of the program leave with self-confidence, proven sobriety and a support system to help prevent relapsing behaviors. They are prepared to rebuild their families and become positive, contributing members of the Shelby County community.”
Dr. Lisa Alvetro, who is vice chairwoman of the Samaritan Works board, said the apartment house was added to existing programs because some graduates need a secure environment in which to transition back to a nonstructured life.
The minimum stay for a resident in Serenity or Amelia House is six months. The longest is 18 months. Graduates can then reside in Horizon House for up to two years.
“When (some) people graduate, the have nothing. It’s pretty hard to live with a mattress on the floor and a card table. So the apartments are furnished,” Alvetro said. Horizon House residents can attend Samaritan Works classes and they have neighbors who understand what they’ve accomplished.
“It’s a sense of community. If you’re having a bad day and you knock on your neighbor’s door, they’re not going to give you drugs,” Alvetro said.
Because Samaritan Works is faith-based, it is not eligible to receive government funding. It is supported by the Shelby County United Way and individual and corporate donors.
