News & Press

Press Contact: Sarah Deats at 817-332-6410 *177

Permission to Brag
When we're growing up, we're taught it's impolite to brag. But on occasion, celebrating one's own successes - or the success of others - is just the right medicine to support and inspire such behavior in others.

Finding Hope, Serving Others
If a Samaritan House resident has had a brush with drugs, they get to know Terry Dybala soon after moving in. "She's tough," says Ted Lovato, "but is a sweetheart underneath. She really cares about the clients we serve and would help them do whatever is necessary to achieve sobriety."

Reaching Across the World
Mayor Mike Moncrief's office received notice that Fort Worth had received the Innovation: Humanitarian Assistance Award from Sister Cities International. The bestowal of this honor came about because of a woman of great courage, here among our Samaritan House family members.

Food, Fun and Laughs
The weather was hot, but the array of food, refreshing drinks, music, and entertainment brought out over 100 Samaritan House residents to a barbecue hosted by Fusion Church and the newly formed Young Professionals group.

Finding New Meaning
For some, retirement represents welcome rest, while for others, it presents the challenge of re-imagining life’s purpose. For Joanne, volunteering at Samaritan House has become a meaningful part of life-after-career.

A Leg Up, Not a Hand Out
Congratulations to Samaritan House’s 2009 resident scholarship recipients, funded by First Command Educational Foundation, whose generous support makes it possible for residents to move ahead in rebuilding their lives.

Angels to Africa
Samaritan House and the Fort Worth Rotary Club have joined together to reach out a hand of compassion to our Sister City Residents. Carlo Capua, co-owner of Z’s Café, will travel to Africa to help teachers learn to use Angels at My Door to educate their students about AIDS. “What better way to create a bridge of hope between our cities and between our nations?” says Samaritan House President and CEO Steve Dutton.

A Dream at Work
In many ways, Carlo Capua is the consummate entrepreneur. But it wasn’t until his experiences in the Sister Cities program that he experienced a life-changing shift in his worldview. “The stigma I used to have about HIV and AIDS is gone,” says Capua. “I’ve learned to measure people not by their past or health status, but by their character, attitude, and inner potential.

Saying Y.E.S. to Summer
For many children, summers bring to mind thoughts of playing in the pool and going on vacations. But for many children of Samaritan House families, those kinds of activities live only in their imaginations. That’s why Rick Isaminger, Family Health and Education Coordinator for Samaritan House, has worked tirelessly to provide our kids with some of the same opportunities that more privileged children may take for granted.

Job Well Done
Samaritan House honors two groups who have played a big part in the success of Z’s Café: the ten residents who work there, and their mentors.

Young Professionals, Model Citizens
Todd Miller and his wife have been volunteers at Samaritan House for a while, but Todd wanted to find a way to make a bigger impact. “After meeting Steve and many of the residents,” says Miller, “I realized that I had found a charity home.”

Family of Support
“The chance to make a difference really stood out,” says Administrative Associate Diana Menchaca, celebrating one year of work with Samaritan House. “I had never heard of this organization, (but) after the initial interview I knew that this job was going to be perfect for me.”

Braving the Elements
The perseverance of Joe’s Run, recently completing it’s twelfth annual race and adding a new 10K run, is a metaphor for the Samaritan House spirit. In spite of cold, blustery weather, more than 1,500 supporters registered for this year’s race through Fort Worth’s Near Southside medical district.

SamariTours: A story to be experienced
Those familiar with Samaritan House generally have no problem explaining how special this community is and why it’s worth supporting. However, there’s still the matter of some perceiving Samaritan House as the best-kept secret in town…but not for long.

In our Nature: An interview
I have gardened for the past 45 years and have always found solace and peace there,” says Facilities Manager Patrick Vickner, “Gardening is my therapy. The residents here love the (Samaritan House) garden and have embraced the opportunity. As with most of life, you get out of it what you put into it.

Sue Mahoney Receives Women’s Honor
Sometimes, when steady, silent service is done so well for so long, others can’t help but notice. Such was the case when the Fort Worth Commission for Women decided to honor Sue Mahoney for her tireless, compassionate service.

From A to Z’s…Café, that is
Samaritan House has always been invested in serving the “whole person,” but the Hope Works employment program has taken this A-to-Z approach to a whole new level – the “Z” referring to our exciting new Z’s Café project, of course!

In the beginning was Genesis
A little more than ten years ago, the face of AIDS was quite different. For most, an HIV-positive diagnosis meant it was only a matter of time until the inevitable end came. Still, even then, some residents defied the odds, regaining enough health and independence to return to life on their own. That’s how the Genesis Project came to be.

Joe’s Run
As this story reaches you, hot off the presses (so to speak), we’re counting down less than one month until the Twelfth Annual Joe’s Run makes its way to the streets of Fort Worth’s southside Medical District, bigger and better than ever.

Starbucks
For the third year running, Samaritan House continues its relationship with local Starbucks stores to display, and eventually auction off, original artwork. The concept originated with a Starbucks employee who wanted to assist Samaritan House.

TCU and Joe’s
After Dominique worked with Samaritan House last year, she knew she wanted to do more. This year, with the help of the Neeley Fellows, TCU is leaving its own indelible mark on the Twelfth Annual Joe’s Run.

Z’s Cafe
A new partnership with Z's Café at the Community Arts Center means ten new jobs for residents. Says one resident, "It proves that I'm capable of being a productive member of society again."

Joe’s Run
Add a new 10K and RadioShack as a Title Sponsor to Joe's Run and what do you have? A super-sized event, sure to draw people by the thousands.

12 Days of Christmas
The magic of Christmas was abundant at Samaritan House this year, thanks to Southside City Church and its volunteers, who devoted 12 days to making the holidays unforgettable for our residents.

A Christmas Surprise
Samaritan House residents became Santa’s helpers recently, when Kay Warren, founder of Acts of Mercy Foundation, asked them to decorate ornaments for the White House Christmas tree.

Toast(masters) of the town
Samaritan House President & CEO Steve Dutton has benefitted first-hand from the speaking and leadership skills offered through Toastmasters. So why wouldn’t residents find value in the very same skills?

Unlikely allies
One hallmark of the Samaritan House community is how it brings people together from many different walks of life. But every once in a while, there’s a case of intersecting paths that seems particularly unlikely.

Defining Moments
Sometimes in the nonprofit world, it's hard to know how much support you really have in the greater community. But if this year's annual Out of the Box luncheon is any indication, the extended family of Samaritan House is bigger than most can imagine.

Stepping up for Sam House
There's leadership and there's leadership. Samaritan House Board and staff members recently joined forces to put forward a staggering $100,000 gift pledge to kick off the annual donor luncheon this year. Just goes to show that generosity leads by example.

Decor outside the box
How do you make the Fort Worth Convention Center feel warm and inviting for hundreds of Samaritan House supporters? Just ask George, Samaritan House resident and so-called "Decor Wizard" who coordinated the decorating efforts at Samaritan House's recent Out of the Box luncheon.

At Home at the House for the Holidays
Though some may argue that Texans never truly enjoy a genuine winter season, that’s never stopped the staff and residents at Samaritan House from going full-steam-ahead with the holiday spirit. Rick Isaminger has a host of activities for young and old to help our residents feel more like home during the holidays.

From (Helping) Hand to Mouth
Place about sixty people under one roof, each of whom receives a home-cooked meal three times a day, every day of the year, and you have a massive undertaking on your hands. Samaritan House offers more than a thousand hot meals every week, along with personalized nutritional counseling.

Jim Feeds a Real House-full
For Jim Hutchinson, years of service – though Jim has jokingly chosen not to disclose just how many years – in the professional food service industry ultimately led him to Samaritan House as our Food Service Manager. “After working the corporate world for so many years,” says Jim, “I thought it was time for a change.”

It’s okay to tattle sometimes
You were always told in school that it’s not nice to tattle. So why are residents telling on each other at a new event called “Brag and Brag On”?

Residents are all business – usually
At Samaritan House, “boring meeting” is an oxymoron.Samaritan House residents keep it interesting when they get together for their monthly Resident Council meetings.

…And a resident shall lead them
Susan fights chronic pain and mobility problems to get through daily life. But rest assured, when the gavel comes down at the Resident Hall meetings, she’s in the driver’s seat.

A Turn of the Tables
Nearly every night of the month, a different group of volunteers comes to Samaritan House to serve a meal to the residents. But on August 14th, the roles were reversed for one night.

Life-changing Relationship
On October 14th, 1993, the gang of four that would become known as the Original Supper Club was born. What once was one group of friends, serving a meal to residents one night a month, has since grown into a nearly nightly affair.

Seven great reasons to volunteer
Hundreds of volunteers take part in the lives of residents every year, but others haven’t taken the next step just yet. For those who haven’t yet taken that step, we’ve compiled the following responses to questions raised by potential volunteers.

Oh Captain, My Captain
Are you a natural leader? Enjoy getting people excited about a great organization? Not averse to getting to know some new friends and munching on some tasty snacks? If you answered “yes” to the above questions, you may have what it takes to be a Samaritan House Table Captain.

Community advocate joins Sam House team
Janine Glassman has known about Samaritan House and its work for many years. A single mother, she knows first-hand how hard it can be to a raise family without extra support, let alone while facing the challenges a debilitating disease like HIV presents

Riding Into the Sunset
Anyone who works with kids or raises children of their own will agree that it’s not easy to keep a passel of young ones occupied while on their summer break, but Rick Isaminger is keeping at least one step ahead of our community’s kids.


RESIDENTS SHINE AT JUBILEE
The overflow crowd at Jubilee Theatre responded with tears, cheers and resounding ovations to the dramatization of the stories of six Samaritan House residents.

Tapping into our nature
A portion of the Samaritan House property has been transformed from an unused swath of weeds to a sustainable community garden, which has become a model for the greater community. How did this long-standing dream become a reality?

Summer fun for all ages
Programs going on this summer through the Youngman Family Room are about more than keeping kids out of trouble. Though they might not even realize it, the kids are learning something while also having plenty of fun along the way.

Faith in action
Kay Warren, wife of bestselling author and mega – church leader Rick Warren and AIDS activist in her own right, toured Samaritan House in a recent visit to Fort Worth. She cites her faith as central to the work she is doing worldwide to combat HIV/AIDS. "It's not a sin to be sick," she says.

More Life raises the curtain on HIV/AIDS
With the More Life festival entering its final week of events, two Samaritan House staff members reflected on the undertaking that has grown from an inspired idea to a month – long, community – wide movement. “We need to keep the community focused on prevention efforts,” says Samaritan House President and CEO, Steve Dutton.

Leading toward a life-saving mission
Rebecca Walker sees parallels between her own life and those living at Samaritan House, and that is at the core of her active involvement with the organization. Though the current Board Chair has never experienced homelessness and is not personally affected by HIV/AIDS, it is the common longing we all share for a full, meaningful life that drives her to help residents realize more for their own futures.

Fighting AIDS one step at a time
Samaritan House client Judith Dillard served as an international ambassador to Fort Worth’s sister city, Mbabane, Swaziland, in the historic Walk the Nation trek across the African country? Why did she do it, and how?

More Life to launch this month
Nearly a year in the making, the More Life festival begins May 10th and continues into June. Check the events calendar to make sure you don’t miss out on anything!

Casting a vision for More Life
As the Executive Director of the Nonprofit Service Center, Cindy Boyd visited more than 100 local nonprofits. So when the three local AIDS service organizations needed a Program Chair for the More Life festival, Cindy was a natural choice.

More Life takes on a life of its own
Collaboration on a community-wide project has long been a dream of Fort Worth’s AIDS Service Organizations, but no one could have imagined what a powerful team those collaborators have turned out to be.

Three More Life Early Birds
Although the More Life festival does not kick off officially until the middle of May, related events began in March, along with more activities coming soon on April 9 and 15.

The man with the plan
Aaron Siegel, Samaritan House’s Event Coordinator, never wants for something to do. On the heels of another successful Joe’s Run, he’s already busy working on upcoming projects.

Put on your walking [or running] shoes
Joe’s Run, the most fun on two feet, will settle into its new home in the Near Southside on March 29th at 8 a.m. Thousands will converge on Samaritan House to begin a new era for one of the most popular benefit runs in the area.

Behind the scenes with SamariTours
We now offer two opportunities each month, though our SamariTours program, for the public to visit our new community. The next two tours will be on March 11 and 25, both at 5:30 pm., and are free.

Looking back on a Decade of Service
Alison Moreland has worked as an AIDS Educator for a quarter of a century. Though her background kept her from living in fear, she realized how many people hesitated to even acknowledge the presence of AIDS in their midst.

Little Angels Among Us
The Fort Worth Public Library Foundation will produce a unique component of the upcoming More Life: The Art and Science of AIDS, a community-wide series of events meant to inspire and inform the community about HIV/AIDS. The festival is a collaboration of the Fort Worth Opera, AIDS Outreach Center, Tarrant County AIDS Interfaith Network and Samaritan House and will feature projects, performances and exhibitions by a wide variety of community organizations.

New Challenges New Directions
For Brook, addiction and homelessness had become so intertwined that both were simply an inevitable part of daily life. Born thirty-one years ago in Mesa, Arizona, she had succumbed early in her life to the overwhelming urge to use drugs.

Squawking Parrot Highlights Samaritan House Talents
As communities grow and change, the desire to create a collective identity can become increasingly challenging. New ideas enter, spaces have to be shared, and those who are less eager to jump in with both feet can feel left out.

He Knows If You’ve Been Bad Or Good…
Samaritan House and The Villages donned their brightest lights and shiniest tinsel for the resident holiday parties this December. Music, gifts and refreshments flowed as the ever-growing Samaritan House family celebrated another year together.

New Staff Member Welcomes Challenges
As the Samaritan House has grown, so have the needs of the community living on-site. Greater diversity, combined with improved life expectancies, create welcome challenges with respect to helping individuals and families plan for their various futures.

Youngman Family Room Full of Life
Nearly every afternoon, the computer stations in the Youngman Family Room are occupied with residents, young and old, searching for jobs, corresponding with loved ones, and occasionally playing a game of solitaire. What is most important, some staff members say, is that they are coming together on such a regular basis.

“Box” Luncheon Rounds Up Hundreds
The 400-plus community supporters who came out to the Round Up Inn Wednesday, November 14th were prepared to hear a few speeches, but few expected to leave quite so inspired. The crowd gathered in support of Samaritan House, who hosted the second annual Out of the Box luncheon, the culmination of year-long development efforts to inform and engage the community in the mission of the organization.

A Year of Living Fully
The phrase “full house” has a different meaning these days around Samaritan House. A year after The Villages at Samaritan House apartments reached full “lease-up” capacity, property manager Michele Erwin and CEO Steve Dutton took a few minutes to reflect on past success and future challenges.

Frogs Get Crafty For “Out Of The Box”
Samaritan House and Texas Christian University have partnered on projects before, but not on the scale of the preparations made for the upcoming Out of the Box luncheon, taking place on November 14th at the Round-Up Inn.

Artistic Vision Helps Support Agency Mission
George was fortunate to combine a passion for art and theater to make a way of life for himself. As the founder of Too Blue Scenic, a set design company, he found a perfect match for his talents and interests. At the time he didn’t recognize that this opportunity might lead him to make life-threatening choices.

More Life To Entertain, Educate, Engage Public
Nearly two dozen community arts, education and nonprofit service groups are teaming up with area AIDS Service Organizations to offer More Life: The Art and Science of AIDS, a community-wide series of events that will take place throughout the month of May 2008. Centerpiece for the festival is the Fort Worth Opera’s production of the opera version of Angels in America, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play about the early days of the AIDS epidemic. The opera will be produced at Scott Theater, located at the Community Arts Center. CAC’s galleries will host additional More Life exhibitions and events.

Hoops Success a Team Effort
The first annual Samaritan House Hoops ‘n Harmony event brought together dozens of community basketball teams and hundreds of onlookers around the common cause of AIDS awareness in the African-American community. Former Dallas Maverick Derek Harper and other community supporters were on hand to educate and entertain on Saturday, September 8th at the Tarrant County Convention Center.

A Life’s Work In Art — Renewed Hope
A stunning new sculpture to be displayed on the Samaritan House grounds speaks volumes about the community living there. Though many businesses use dramatic pieces of art to greet visitors, the new bronze piece created by Fort Worth sculptor Michael Pavlovsky tells a more personal story of both tragedy and triumph.

A Life Honored Through Service
After fourteen years as a volunteer with Samaritan House, Charlotte Hogan-Price photographed with former Dallas Maverick, Derek Harper is hard at work as an HIV/AIDS advocate. The third of thirteen children from Macon, Georgia, she has consistently found ways to make life better for herself and her own three children. Working in the Tarrant County Probate Court system for more than twenty-five years has given her first-hand knowledge of the challenges that face the African-American community. Nothing, however, could have prepared her for the loss of her brother to AIDS in 1993.

Lori Sapp – A Decade of Service
It’s been just a little over ten years since Lori Sapp began her work with Samaritan House, back in March of 1997. I’m sure when she started, she wondered what she had gotten herself into. As an agency, we were in our early years, struggling to find people to fill our often vacant positions.

Back to School Blitz
For Samaritan house staff members Rick Isaminger and Sue Mahoney, helping kids get ready for the new school year is a new but welcome challenge.

"Hooping" It Up For Health
Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Brooks understands the reality of HIV and its continuing impact on the community he serves. When he was asked to serve as co-chair for Samaritan House’s Hoops 'n Harmony, which includes a basketball tournament, a concert and health fair, he knew it was an important way he could help.

More Than Just Court Vision
Clarence Moore, a sales consultant for ASG Security, has been an active volunteer with Samaritan House for several years. He has helped out at the annual Run to Joe’s and Casino Night events for some time, but this year he felt compelled to jump in with both feet.

Hope Takes On Many Forms
If you have been following the progress of Samaritan House’s Harvest of Hope Garden through our previous issues, you already know that the garden was built and planted this spring with volunteer labor and is already producing a bumper crop of organic vegetables. But Harvest of Hope is yielding much more that a host of fruits, vegetables and spices from the fertile soil. It has become a necessary therapeutic retreat for Greg, the House’s garden supervisor.

Hoop It Up For Life
Grab your best court shoes and polish up your jump shot, because it’s time to bring your best game to the Fort Worth Convention Center on Saturday, September 8th. If you have what it takes, you might just survive Samaritan House’s first annual Hoops ‘n Harmony event to become kings – or queens – of the court.

Garden Dedications Symbolize Community Growth
Samaritan House officially dedicated its two new gardens on May 16th with a festive celebration attended by residents, staff and Board members.

'More Life' Puts HIV in the Spotlight
In May 2008, the Fort Worth Opera will produce the opera version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Angels in America, as part of its festival season.

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