In 2009, the Sherri and David Dunn Hope Fund for client assistance was established to provide services exclusively to individuals who are unable to pay.  The Fund makes it possible for our counselors to render mental health services in underserved areas of Houston.  Often, these are places without access to high-quality mental health care -- especially those integrating a faith/spirituality component. 

Consequently, the Fund has allowed Interface-Samaritan to extend its services -- beyond the six physical offices -- through community outreach and
collaborative partnerships with other organizations that desperately needed a mental health component.

Our Fund remains strong through private donations:  gifts from individuals, families, businesses, organizations, churches, foundations and other interested and concerned parties.

Through the Sherri and David Dunn Hope Fund, Interface-Samaritan has expanded our services through collaborative partnerships and outreach in the community.

Current partnerships include:

• Small Steps Nurturing Center, a faith-based preschool in the Fifth Ward of Houston that serves economically at-risk children and families.  An Interface-Samaritan counselor will provide services (as of this month) onsite to parents who need counseling regarding difficult issues that involve their own childhood abuse, single parenting, anger management, and other critical issues that impact their ability to parent.
   
• Yellowstone Academy, a faith-based private school which exists to promote human flourishing among Houston’s poorest families.  The school exclusively serves children from very low-income families with a program designed to provide them the educational, spiritual, social and practical resources they need to succeed in life.  An Interface-Samaritan counselor works with children twice a week, providing a safe place to work through anger, grief and other feelings, and to offer them coping skills to handle the difficult circumstances they face.
   
• The Chinquapin School, whose mission is to provide a high quality college-preparatory education to able and motivated youth from low-income families in the Greater Houston area. Interface-Samaritan’s counselor provides counseling services to the students and their families regarding a variety of issues including, but not limited to:  school performance, eating disorders, grief and loss, relationship issues and physical abuse.  These students and their parents now have direct access to quality mental health services in a familiar setting.
   
• Mercy Street, an outreach of Chapelwood United Methodist Church, to provide critical services to those in recovery from addiction and other issues.
   
• Westside Homeless Partnership in Spring Branch, an organization which helps “situationally homeless” people get back on their feet after facing unusually difficult life circumstances.  A bilingual counselor from Interface-Samaritan works with adults to help them have a higher rate of success as they re-enter the working world and become productive members of the community.

In 2010, Interface-Samaritan provided more than 7,800 hours of counseling and educational services, an increase of more than 1,000 hours from the previous year.  The need for services is great, and the demand for subsidized services continues to increase.

Your gifts are an invaluable resource for the Fund and make possible the continued good work of Interface-Samaritan’s counselors.

Working together, we are improving the lives of families and enriching our community.