July 2024 - Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Palm Beach is grateful to the Indian River Community Foundation for a $32,000 grant award in support of the Samaritan Center.
The Samaritan Center is a transitional housing program serving homeless families from Indian River County focusing on “life skills development” (parenting, budgeting, education), with the primary goal of promoting self-sufficiency, healthy family values and structure leading to successful re-entry into independence upon graduation. The center offers a highly structured four-tiered level program to assist residents in progressively moving forward in their self-sufficiency development. Length of stay for each family is approximately 6-9 months; however, this average is trending longer due to housing market challenges.
The target population consists of Indian River County families that are homeless, living in unacceptable living conditions or on the verge of eviction. Most residents are in the process of being evicted or have already been evicted and are living in the woods, cars, tents or on someone's couch for a limited time. Samaritan Center’s services are available 24/7 on a non-discriminatory basis to eligible clients regardless of religious affiliation, ethnic origin, or any other protected class under applicable federal, state or local discrimination law.
The National Center on Family Homelessness provided evidence that states, “Housing stability and safety, stronger parenting skills, improvement in children’s emotional and academic development are necessary in ending homelessness”. Samaritan Center is a transitional program focused on housing stability, safety, strong parenting skills, healthy family values and successful reentry into mainstream society.
The Indian River Community Foundation’s mission is to build a better community through donor-driven philanthropy. Indian River Community Foundation was established in 2008 and is accredited as meeting National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations. The Community Foundation is a member of the Community Foundations of Florida, a member affiliate of the Florida Philanthropic Network. Indian River Community Foundation’s discretionary grantmaking is made possible by the generosity of anonymous donations. The Community Foundation's discretionary grants are aligned with a vision of a more healthy, prosperous, and generous Indian River County community. Grantmaking priorities are informed by the findings of the most recent community needs assessment and the most current data and information collected on Indian River Indicators.
