Gateway Apartments offers homes, independence for former homeless

By Brandi Hart, McKinney Courier-Gazette

April 09, 2008 – Aaron Whitaker and his teenage daughter had only $36 and a few gallons of gas last year when they checked into a bunk-bed room at the Samaritan Inn, Collin County's only homeless shelter.

Aaron Whitaker carries daughter Guyler Easter, 16, into their new home at North Texas Gateway Apartments in McKinney.

Three families that were formerly living in Collin County’s only homeless shelter, the Samaritan Inn, have moved into a home of their own in the new Gateway Apartments that are being managed by the Samaritan Inn.

Located immediately across the street from the Samaritan Inn on State Highway 5, the two-story Gateway Apartments will provide a home for 20 families who have graduated from the Samaritan Inn. The residents pay a discounted rent and are able to live in the apartments up to 18 months.

Marc A. Sparks and his wife, Jane, worked with Lynne Sipiora, executive director of the Samaritan Inn, to make the Gateway Apartments become a reality.

“There is a real scarcity of affordable housing in Collin County. I called Marc Sparks and asked if he knew anyone who would help build an apartment complex and he said he would do it,” Sipiora said during the ribbon cutting ceremony held Wednesday afternoon at the apartments, which was attended by about 60 volunteers, Samaritan Inn board members, and the many people who adopted the apartments and furnished them for the residents.

Sipiora was delighted about the number of people who attended the ribbon cutting ceremony and people who sponsored the apartments and furnished them from top to bottom for the residents.

“I am delighted about the turnout. It proves my whole theory, which is collaboration and momentum solves social problems,” Sipiora said.

Residents of the Samaritan Inn who demonstrate an ability to make a positive change in their previous behaviors or lifestyles are chosen to live in the apartments. They also serve as a motivating example to other inn residents and show that the inn’s programs are far beyond a cot and a hot meal, but rather a way of living to achieve long-term financial stability and ultimately, independence, Sipiora said.

Gateway residents must be employed full-time and pay a percentage of their wages in subsidized rent and all utilities. Though not yet able to pay full rent, the move to the apartments will allow the residents to have a degree of independence with the ability to save money when they will move out on their own.

The first three Gateway families moved into their apartments at the end of March. Future Gateway residents will move in several at a time during the remainder of 2008, ensuring smooth transitions for all, Sipiora said.

The residents are encouraged to take all furnishings and supplies with them when they move out of the apartments, which will further enable them to afford the move to a market rate apartment or home, Sipiora said.

Aaron Whitaker was the first person to move into the Gateway Apartments, which is the only one of its kind in the United States. He thanked everyone that attended the ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, and the people who sponsored the apartments and “anyone that even looked inside the apartments.”

Local home builder Darling Homes built the apartments at no profit. Darling Homes, which is owned by brothers Steve, Bob and Bill Darling, also built the first home for the North Collin County Habitat for Humanity subdivision east of SH 5 and is also building the 50th home for Habitat for Humanity.

Members of various churches, civic groups, businesses and citizen groups in McKinney and members of the Chambersville United Methodist Church, which is northwest of McKinney, sponsored the 20 apartments. Some units have been adopted on an ongoing basis and other units once, so there will be a continuing need and opportunity to adopt units. Beverly Covington, the city of McKinney’s deputy city secretary, was among members of the Chambersville United Methodist Church who sponsored and furnished an apartment for a Samaritan Inn resident.

“We just thought it was a very worthwhile community effort. It was something that the entire congregation, even though we’re small, was willing to assist in getting people back on their feet. The church is very supportive of giving a helping hand to somebody who needs it,” Covington said.

Sleep Experts donated mattresses for 19 of the apartments.

Samaritan Inn board member Phil Maternowski attended the ribbon cutting ceremony and said he was very glad to see the apartments built to accommodate the residents.

“We’re called to serve those in need and this gives the people a second chance. It greatly enhances the likelihood of them succeeding in that,” Maternowski said.

Sparks presented Sipiora with the 2007 Grand Samaritan award during the ceremony, which brought tears to Sipiora’s eyes because she was very grateful to receive the award.

Staff members of the North Collin County Habitat for Humanity, former McKinney city manager Larry Robinson, Collin County District Attorney John Roach, McKinney City Council members Gilda Garza and Bill Cox, council member elect for district 2 Geralyn Kever, at-large council candidate Sherry Tucker David, and Victor Manuel, the Democratic candidate for the Collin County Commissioner for Pct. 3, were some of the event’s attendees. Collin County Judge Keith Self, who is a member of the Samaritan Inn’s board of directors, also attended the ribbon cutting ceremony.

The moving of the three families from the inn into the apartments has also allowed the Samaritan Inn to allow more homeless people to live in the inn, Sipiora said. In February, 95 people who met the qualifications to stay at the inn had to be turned away because of lack of room. The inn can house 120 people, Sipiora said. The Samaritan Inn is not an emergency homeless shelter, but allows people who are homeless who have a picture ID, who can pass a background check to ensure the person has not been charged with or has a history of a violent or sexually based crime and who have been clean and sober for at least 30 days to stay at the inn.

For more information on the Gateway Apartments or to adopt a unit, contact Sipiora or Casey Bond, the Gateway program manager at 972-542-5301 or visit the inn’s Web site www.samaritaninn.org.

You made Gateway Apartments happen

Collin County citizens expand the Samaritan Inn's mission
Dallas Morning News, April 6, 2008

Congratulations. You did it.

When the ribbon is cut on the new Gateway Apartments across from the Samaritan Inn on Wednesday, the cheers and applause is for you, the entire community of Collin County.

Sure, there were some major donors behind the transitional housing built by the county's only homeless shelter. Yes, the board and staff of the Inn deserve a huge amount of credit for expanding their mission to help those people down on their luck with a hand up (not a handout).

But, seriously, this is the result of heartfelt and generous support from throughout the county.

For example, consider what Howard Rosenberg did. Like many of you, he read about the Samaritan Inn on this page, and he wanted to help. This Frisco resident happens to run All American Roofing & Construction, and so he literally put a roof over his neighbors' heads – for free.

Or consider the generosity of the three brothers – Bill, Bob and Steve – who own Darling Homes – and their project leader, Bill Pierce, who oversaw every detail of the construction.

And, of course, there's Marc Sparks, the philanthropist who doesn't just write the checks, but who first got involved in the shelter by bringing truckloads of toiletries, cleaning supplies and food to the shelter in his spare time.

But did you also know that there is a waiting list for these new homes? Not just a waiting list for residents, but for donors. Groups are lined up waiting for a chance to furnish and decorate these apartments to help the Samaritan Inn residents get back on their feet.

Residents pay 25 percent of their paychecks for the homes, and when they move out into their own place, they take the furniture with them. Then another group – a Rotary Club, a booster club, a neighborhood association – rushes in to decorate the apartment for the next resident.

Gateway is not just a new apartment complex. It's not just a small collection of affordable housing in a landscape more and more dominated by mammoth homes equipped with every luxury.

Gateway is a community-generated, perpetual difference-maker in the lives of North Texans. And you made it happen.

Encouraging developments in helping to house the needy
Friday, March 21, 2008

Two years can seem like an eternity.

It was that long ago, in March of 2006, when I bemoaned the resistance that some business types put up against a plan to build apartments for poor residents in downtown Dallas.

Not only are the high-rise apartments being built and prepared to open next year on Akard Street, but the fuss has subsided. And the city now has a business-minded mayor who stood up last week to call for more compassion for our most vulnerable residents, including the homeless.

Mayor Tom Leppert's remarks came a day before some low-income residents moved into a new 20-unit building in McKinney called the North Texas Gateway Apartments – the first transitional housing complex in Collin County.

What's remarkable about the complex is that it was built with a $2 million gift from an Addison entrepreneur, Marc Sparks, a longtime supporter of the Samaritan Inn, the only homeless shelter in Collin County.

His generosity didn't go unnoticed.

"You have to know that's my dream – to have someone willing to do that," said Jan Mitura, executive director of the Annette G. Strauss Family Gateway Center, a nonprofit agency in Dallas that provides transitional housing and an array of services for families experiencing homelessness. "Where's my knight in shining armor?"

Family Gateway is a success story unto itself, emerging from gritty debates in Dallas more than two decades ago about how to tackle the seemingly intractable problem of homelessness. Family Gateway was born in 1986, and four years later, the agency built the area's first transitional housing, Gateway Apartments, Ms. Mitura said.

"Mayor Strauss would always say that her work with Family Gateway was one of the best things she did as mayor," said Ms. Mitura. "That was her proudest legacy."

And yet it was a source of great debate at City Hall and beyond, with some civic leaders expressing concern about Dallas opening its doors too wide and inviting other cities to send their downtrodden souls here.

Dallas simply didn't want to be a regional magnet. Still doesn't. And Dallas leaders sure as heck didn't want to take up arms against a sea of social problems alone.

That's why the McKinney project is so promising. It's yet another sign that other cities in the region are beginning to help carry the load that once fell almost entirely on Dallas, thanks to its dubious distinction as the urban core.

"I do feel like Dallas shoulders the burden" of providing for those who lack housing and health care in North Texas, said Tracy Westhoff, assistant executive director of the Samaritan Inn in McKinney. "I wish we could do more, but I think we're heading in the right direction."

We're not there yet. Not by a long shot. But at least the conversation is changing.

"I've seen a gradual evolution," Ms. Mitura said. "And the city has more compassion. I also see more responsiveness to the concept of affordable housing rather than shelters, and that's important to me."

It's also important to John Greenan, executive director of the Central Dallas Community Development Corp., the nonprofit that's building a mixed-use development in downtown Dallas that will include some high-rise apartments for low-income residents and once-homeless folks.

The location of the project worried some, but the nonprofit, an offshoot of Central Dallas Ministries, allayed those concerns.

"When someone's living in a place, they're no longer homeless," said Mr. Greenan, who pointed out that the misgivings some people have about the homeless and jobless are rooted in misunderstanding. "And the fact is that the numbers of poor people living in even nice neighborhoods are higher than people think."

In other words, he said, when poor people are concentrated in one spot, such as a public housing project, we notice them. Otherwise, they slip under the radar, thus masking the depth and scope of the affordable housing crunch.

Those in need may not surface until they're in crisis mode, desperately seeking health care, food or a place to stay.

Ms. Westhoff put it this way: "If you lost your job right now and lost all your income, how long could you survive?"

It's not a new question. The responses are just different, reflecting a change in attitudes and a newfound willingness to help tackle the problems.

"What you're seeing," Ms. Mitura said, "is a lot of progress. At least that's what I hope we're seeing."

It certainly bears watching.

Collin County opens its first transitional housing
Collin County opens transitional housing

By JAKE BATSELL / The Dallas Morning News

McKINNEY – Aaron Whitaker and his teenage daughter had only $36 and a few gallons of gas last year when they checked into a bunk-bed room at the Samaritan Inn, Collin County's only homeless shelter.

Aaron Whitaker carries daughter Guyler Easter, 16, into their new home at North Texas Gateway Apartments in McKinney.

On Friday, Mr. Whitaker carried his daughter on a triumphant piggyback ride into their brand-new apartment, where 16-year-old Guyler Easter hangs out in her own room decorated with Tinker Bell stickers.

The father and daughter are among the first residents at the North Texas Gateway Apartments, a 20-unit building that organizers say is the first transitional housing complex in this affluent county.

Transitional housing serves as a bridge between homelessness and full-fledged independence. Gateway residents first must graduate from the shelter across the street and work full-time to qualify for one of the apartments, built with a $2 million gift from Addison entrepreneur Marc Sparks, a longtime Samaritan Inn donor.

Residents pay below-market rents – about one-quarter of their salary – for as long as 18 months, while saving up for their own place. Donors provide furniture and appliances for the apartments, which have the spiffy feel of upscale townhouses, with dark-wood cabinets, tile floors and pewter fixtures.

"You never know giving until you've been on the receiving side of it," said Mr. Whitaker, 50, who until Friday had been homeless since encountering tax problems in late 2006. He works now at a McKinney warehouse, processing trade-in items for a resale Web site.

"These people have literally just opened up their hearts to us," he said. "It's not even about knowing us or anything like that, it's just like, 'What can we do to help?' "

Lynne Sipiora, the Samaritan Inn's executive director, said contractors donated labor and materials toward the Gateway project, which took more than two years to develop.

"To me, it's the ultimate collaboration for goodness," she said. "Collin County desperately needs this."

Ms. Sipiora said even the most determined graduates of her homeless shelter have a hard time saving enough money to cover all the deposits and start-up costs involved in renting an apartment.

"Add it all up, and a one-bedroom apartment could cost you $1,600 to $1,800 just to get in the door," she said. "That's insurmountable. Transitional programs are essential."

Such programs are more common in Dallas County, which has added hundreds of transitional housing beds since the mid-1980s.

Cindy Honey, executive director of the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance, said Dallas County has about 1,800 beds for transitional housing.

"This is a great new resource for Collin County," Ms. Honey said. "It is unrealistic to think that people who have lost everything can get back on their feet after three or seven or 10 days of shelter. Transitional housing is an excellent source to help people stabilize."

It's also an effective model, local and national statistics show. The most recent figures say about 66 percent of Dallas County people enrolled in transitional living programs move into some form of permanent housing, Ms. Honey said. That's better than the national success rate of about 62 percent.

The Gateway apartments will help fill a void for struggling residents looking for shelter in Collin County. Last year, McKinney's 22-room Budget Motel – one of the county's few outlets for low-income lodging – was razed after city inspectors declared it structurally substandard.

The residents who moved into the Gateway apartments last weekend all offered praise for the Samaritan Inn, which welcomed them when they had no place else to go. But all savored the moment when they finally claimed a place to call their own.

"I'll cry later on. I can't do it right now," Ms. Pitts said Friday. "I'm cooking breakfast in the morning."

Emotions were more sudden for Stephen Thorpe, 38, who spent a year and a half on the streets of Austin, Dallas and Houston before finding the Samaritan Inn six months ago. He paused to collect himself Friday as he surveyed his new apartment, furnished with items including a refrigerator, washer/dryer unit and computer.

"This is a very, very proud day of mine," Mr. Thorpe said. "I've worked long and hard for this, and so have the people that are behind me at the Samaritan Inn."

Mr. Thorpe, who works as a short-order cook and warehouseman, hopes to save enough money to buy a car and eventually start a painting business. As he settled in on Friday, he looked forward to some of the routine tasks that most apartment dwellers take for granted – taking a shower and making a run to Wal-Mart.

"I'm just so appreciative and grateful," he said. "It's a miracle. I'm truly, truly blessed."

Transitional apartments open new doors for Collin's homeless
12:00 AM CST on Sunday, January 20, 2008

Ed Housewright writes about Collin County issues. His column appears every other Sunday.

Stephen Thorpe will be moving into an apartment soon, and he can't wait.

"I'm getting more excited by the minute," he said.

Why all the anticipation?

Mr. Thorpe now lives at the Samaritan Inn, a homeless shelter in McKinney, and he's ready to get his own place. But he doesn't have enough money to afford the rent at most places.

Enter the Gateway Apartments.

The 20-unit complex opens next month as a project of the Samaritan Inn. The one- and two-bedroom apartments will be offered to shelter residents at below-market rents and will let them regain some independence.

The idea is to help them transition from homelessness to holding down a full-time job and living on their own.

Mr. Thorpe, a short-order cook and recovering alcoholic, said he's ready to start supporting himself.

"This is the perfect thing," he said.

The Gateway Apartments are on State Highway 5 in McKinney, across the street from the Samaritan Inn. The two-story complex could pass for any other new apartment building.

Casey Bond, a case manager at the Samaritan Inn, walks across the street almost every day to check on the construction progress. She took me through two units recently and pointed out the tile floors, spacious closets and large windows.

"It's nicer than my apartment," Ms. Bond said excitedly.

The Gateway Apartments were built without a cent of public money.

Elected officials didn't have to hold rancorous public hearings on whether to spend taxpayer funds on the poor. In Collin County, "welfare" spending always generates an outcry.

A generous investor in Dallas donated $2 million to cover the entire construction cost. Marc Sparks has given money to the Samaritan Inn, Collin County's only homeless shelter, for more than a decade.

"Most of the working population on this earth is not but two paychecks away from poverty," Mr. Sparks said. "Poverty can strike anyone at any time."

The Gateway Apartments will be the county's only "transitional living" apartments.

"My goal with the project is to give the residents confidence that they can get back on their own feet again," Mr. Sparks said. "I have found that with faith and confidence, you can achieve anything you want."

The apartments are generating considerable buzz at the Samaritan Inn. Residents have seen the complex take shape across the street.

"Everyone is interested in an apartment," said Lynne Sipiora, the Samaritan Inn's executive director.

Unfortunately, there's a supply-and-demand problem. The shelter can house 130 people, but the apartment complex has only 20 units. What to do?

Ms. Sipiora said the apartments will be reserved for people, both single and with families, who have shown a commitment to climbing out of poverty. To move into the apartments, someone must have a full-time job and be saving money toward getting their own place.

Residents will be allowed to stay at the Gateway Apartments for six to 18 months. They will pay rent (30 percent of their income) and all utility bills. They will have freedom to come and go, but they still will be under the supervision of a Samaritan Inn caseworker.

Residents can be kicked out if they abuse drugs or break other rules spelled out in a contract they must sign. The contract mentions the "privilege" of living at the Gateway Apartments.

Indeed.

The Samaritan Inn is extending a once-in-a-lifetime offer to people. If you've been homeless, moving into the fully furnished, rent-subsidized apartments is like winning the lottery.

Residents even get to take the furniture, dishes, cookware and other household items with them when they leave. Donors have "adopted" units and will keep them furnished.

The Samaritan Inn has developed an innovative initiative to put a dent in homelessness. Let's hope it works.

Maybe the Gateway Apartments will give people the gentle push they need to get back into the mainstream.

Embrace the New Year with A Touch of Home
January 2008 - Barbara Walch

A single mother of three loses her job and can no longer pay her rent. A pregnant 18-year-old is told she is no longer welcome in her family’s home. A high-tech executive loses his house after months of unemployment. These are all unfortunate circumstances that can lead to despair in someone’s life. In the absence of family and friends who can help, where can someone in crisis turn, especially individuals and even entire families who suddenly find themselves without a home? The answer: The Samaritan Inn.

“We were founded in 1984 by the Collin County Ministerial Alliance and we are a homeless program more than a homeless shelter,” explains Lynne Sipiora, Executive Director of The Samaritan Inn. “It’s not just a place to sleep and eat but a very intensive therapeutic program that leads to independence. The person who comes in here has to articulate the desire to be independent. So somebody who is interested in living on the streets or has a chronic homeless problem is not a candidate for us.”

She continues, “We are the only homeless shelter in Collin County – one shelter with 120 beds in a county of over 730,000 people. So we are consistently full and unfortunately turn people away on a regular basis. The youngest (resident) we’ve had, who was 2-days-old, came directly to us from the hospital because the mother had no place to go with her brand new baby.
The oldest was an 84-year-old widow who had a
problem son who got her into problems and, as a result, she ended up evicted.”

Lynne says another little-known fact is that approximately 30 percent of the residents are children under the age of 10 who are living there with a parent or parents.

The Samaritan Inn prides itself on being “more than just a place to sleep.” Besides providing a clean, safe environment, the shelter is staffed with professional case managers who meet with each resident to develop a workable plan towards independence. Classes in life skills, support programs, legal and financial counsel, and mental and physical health services are also provided, as well as job training. In one such program, named “Greater Goodies,” residents make chocolate truffles which are sold at a variety of local venues. Residents learn job skills as they participate in production, inventory, bookkeeping, customer service, and sales. “Greater Goodies” received the Outstanding New Project award in 2006 from the Texas Homeless Network, which also recently named Lynne Sipiora as Executive Director of the Year.

A not-for-profit organization which provides free services, The Samaritan Inn is dependent on financial contributions from individuals, churches, corporations, grants, foundations, and United Way. It takes $1.5 million a year just to keep the shelter open and operating. According to Molly Castillo, Development Manager for The Samaritan Inn, they also hold several fundraisers every year. “We have an annual golf tournament and the Good Samaritan Awards Gala, which is our biggest event, held in October,” she says. “There are several other things on the drawing board, but right now we are also selling our new cookbook A Touch of Home, which is a collection of recipes gathered from staff, volunteers, and donors. The cookbook sells for $20 and because the entire project was donated to us, 100 percent of the proceeds benefit our program!”

“We have a wonderful benefactor who has been involved with The Samaritan Inn for many years and has been overwhelmingly generous,” Lynne adds. “His name is Marc Sparks and he came up with the idea. As a venture capitalist, he funds starting businesses all the time, so he’s a real idea guy. He said, ‘All I would like you to do is go to your membership, your employees, and your constituents, and see if they have great recipes they would like to share then send them to us.’ And that’s all we did, which was incredible … absolutely incredible! About six months later, he called and said that 10,000 cookbooks were going to be delivered, so make room for them.”

An entrepreneur and philanthropist whose involvement with the shelter began in the late 1980s, Marc Sparks says he actually got the inspiration for the project from the Dallas Junior League. “I found out that 50 percent of the annual budget for the league is funded by their annual cookbook sales,” he says. “I thought how incredible it would be to have a custom cookbook that expressed The Samaritan Inn’s image while helping fund the cause we are so dearly committed to. This cookbook is the first annual book and we hope to publish a new one every year.”

After the recipes were collected, they were sent to Megan Sullivan, who worked as art director on the project and has worked for Marc Sparks for the past 10 years. It was her responsibility to research the recipes to ensure they made sense; type and organize the final selections; work with the publisher to complete the book; and design the cover – all still at no cost to The Samaritan Inn. “Since the name of the book is A Touch of Home, we tried to choose down-home cooking recipes. Many of the recipes submitted are family favorites that have been passed down from generation to generation,” Megan says. “I love the finished book and have already found many new favorites.”

A Touch of Home, A Collection of Recipes from the Friends of The Samaritan Inn is filled with over 200 recipes. It’s a wonderful eclectic mix of easy (Cookies While You Sleep) to ethnic (Grilled Italian Chicken Sandwiches) to exotic (Asian Lettuce Wraps) to decadent (Sinful Pie Dessert). Cookbooks can be purchased for $20 each on their Web site www.thesamaritaninn.org, at the shelter located at 1710 N. McDonald St. in McKinney, or at the Friends of the Inn Thrift Store at 103 E. University in McKinney (it’s the bright purple building … you can’t miss it).

“Greater Goodies” delectable chocolate truffles can also be purchased through those same outlets. The truffles are $1.00 each and are sold in boxes of two, ten, or a “Texas Dozen” of 15.

“And again, 100 percent of the proceeds go into our program and this is significant,” Lynne reiterates. “To keep one person in our shelter – for food, shelter, and programming – it costs $37 a day. We sell two cookbooks, we have it covered!”

A Touch of Home – Recipes for compassion and help

“I am passionate about the homeless problem,” says Lynne Sipiora, Executive Director of The Samaritan Inn. “I think an awful lot of people in Collin County think that it doesn’t happen here. But it does, and as the county continues to grow, the homeless problem will continue to grow. The only way I can expect anyone to support our program is if they understand the problem, so I think of myself as a community educator and certainly an advocate for the people who live here.”

Molly Castillo, Development Manager for the shelter, echoes those sentiments. “As development manager for this organization, I’m involved a lot with marketing and with educating the community, letting them know we are here and about our special events. I’ve gone to church garage sales and sat all day in the parking lot, talking to people about the Inn and why we are here. Anytime I get a chance to talk about the Inn, it’s like my favorite subject!”

Right now, both women are also actively marketing the new cookbook, A Touch of Home, A Collection of Recipes from the Friends of The Samaritan Inn. Thanks to the generosity of longtime benefactor Marc Sparks, who came up with the idea for the cookbook and paid all the costs, 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit the homeless program. The cookbooks, which are $20 each, along with chocolate truffles prepared by residents of The Samaritan Inn in their “Greater Goodies” work program are available for purchase on their Web site www.thesamaritaninn.org, at the shelter at 1710 McDonald St. in McKinney, or at the Friends of the Inn Thrift Store at 103 E. University in McKinney.

Also check out their Web site for other ways you can donate to this worthwhile program or can volunteer your time. “We have hundreds of volunteers who do all kinds of things from mowing the grass, painting a wall, mentoring the residents, babysitting, stuffing envelopes,” Lynne says. “We couldn’t survive without our volunteers, that’s for sure!”

Besides Groundhog Day and Valentine’s Day, February is famous for Highland Park United Methodist Church’s annual Home on the Lawn project. For the fifth time in as many years, Carpenters for Christ will partner with SMU and Habitat for Humanity to build homes for the working poor. This year is special. Not just one, but two homes will be constructed simultaneously, across the street from each other and completed in a two-week “blitz build.” Walls rise on Saturday,
February 17, and work continues each Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday thereafter through March 4, Dedication Sunday.

It takes a great congregation with many volunteers to pull off such a project and volunteers are encouraged to sign up at their earliest convenience. The best part of it is that no experience or special knowledge is necessary to participate in this great work. Marc and Jane Sparks have already done their part by sponsoring the cost of both homes in honor of their daughter Lauren, who is graduating from SMU this spring.

Volunteers can work a full day, half-day shift or anything in between. Work begins at 8:00 a.m. and concludes at 4:30 p.m. A complementary lunch is provided for morning workers. Free child care at HPUMC is available. Volunteers may bring their own tools, particularly if they have favorite hand tools, but tools will be provided. Carpenters work rain or shine and people are encouraged to wear weather- appropriate work clothes like gloves, a head covering and sunscreen.

The homes are located at 4315 Canal St. and 4326 Canal St., in the South Fair Park area of Dallas. From HPUMC, the trip is less than than 20 minutes. Driving directions and other valuable information, are located on the Carpenters website at www.hpumc-cfc.org. To sign up right away, contact Volunteer Coordinator Jane Parker at jhp01@aol.com or 214.522.0204 and Joe B. Fortson at fortsonj@hpumc.org or 214.523.2297.

By now, you've heard of the Samaritan Inn. It's one of Collin County's most impressive success stories. It started in 1984 as a group project of several community leaders, and it barely survived for years in a rundown building in East McKinney. I remember the tour I took in 2001, a very quick circle around a cluttered set of darkened hallways.

Nowadays, in the new, state-of-the-art shelter, you can take a tour of the building online (www.the samaritaninn.org). You can make a reservation by phone (972-547-5567) to donate items to a fully functional, separate thrift store instead of just dropping them off at the busy shelter. You can (and should) donate online, too, where you can also buy chocolate truffles made by residents of the Inn through a venture called Greater Goodies.

The shelter has come a long way, and this week, it's about to start a whole new chapter in its incredible story by breaking ground on a transitional housing complex next door to its growing campus. But before we begin writing that new chapter, there's a major part of the story -- little known to most people -- that needs to be told.

* Marc A. Sparks would always try to avoid eye contact with the cashiers at Target or Sam's Club when he was buying carts full of underwear, deodorant and toothbrushes. He knew they would ask him what he was up to, and it's not something he likes to talk about. So, he says, he would just ignore the cashiers when they asked and keep loading stuff onto the conveyor belt. Why didn't he make something up? Because he didn't want to lie while doing God's work, he says.

It was the late 1980s, and he regularly loaded up his Chevy Blazer and trekked over to the Samaritan Inn, where he got the enthusiastic help of volunteers in unloading the stash. Why did he start doing this?
"It's my duty," he said recently during an interview in his ground-floor office in! Addison Circle. "We don't have a choice but to support one another. We have to give back. If we don't, society won't succeed."
For a time, Mr. Sparks, a middle-aged Dallas husband and father active in his University Park church, did his good deeds at the Austin Street Shelter, but he says he eventually came back to where he was needed the most -- the Samaritan Inn.

He had become more and more successful in business, but he continued his shopping-and- giving sprees, sometimes taking the basics directly to people living under an overpass.

He is a fast-paced talker, but he slows down when he talks about how it must feel trying to find some place to sleep when you're the coldest you've ever been. And so he would stand there in the aisles of a big-box store and think, if I were homeless, what would I need? What would I not want to share?
During one of his regular stops at the shelter, one of the staff members said something about how happy she was that he came by because now they could stay open another month. At first, he thought she was exaggerating, but she wasn't. She explained that if it weren't for the basics he delivered, the shelter could not afford its other bills.

For the first time, Mr. Sparks realized that his donations were not just "the cream on top." More important, he says, he realized that we all too often make the mistake of assuming someone else is responsible for basic services.
So he stepped it up. When he was dropping SUV-loads of toilet paper and T-shirts off at the Inn, did he imagine that he would end up furnishing a new 10,000- square-foot shelter, buying the charity a thrift store and building transitional housing for its residents? "I did," he said. And it's not just that he could predict the future, but, as he put it, "Who else is gonna do it?"

* Since that encounter with the staffer in 2002, progress at the Inn has moved at what Mr. Sparks' employees call "S parks speed." A successful venture capitalist, Mr. Sparks sa! ys he lo oks for people who are passionate, who have faith and who are tenacious -- and he has no use for bureaucracy and delays.
Lynne Sipiora, the executive director of the Inn, has firsthand knowledge of "Sparks speed." Last December, he called her and asked what the shelter's biggest need was. In the past when he asked questions like this, the answer was a new shelter, a computer lab, a thrift store. Done. Done. Done.

Last December, Ms. Sipiora said it was affordable housing. An unwed mother making minimum wage has a hard time finding an apartment where she'll be able to make ends meet and save a little for her future.

Two days later, Mr. Sparks called her back and said, "Find some land. We're building." This enthusiastic generosity was contagious, Ms. Sipiora said. The owner of the land adjacent to the shelter sold for less than his asking price. Darling Homes agreed to waive its profit. Attorney Bob Roeder represented the Inn for free in the long proce ss of getting approval from the city. A furniture company has talked about furnishing the apartments for free.

And on Thursday, ceremonial shovels in hand, this growing army will break ground on Gateway, a transitional housing project that is unusual in that it is being funded by a single donor. If the Inn had sought grants from the government or large foundations for the project, it would have taken years to get to this point. But by next December, families who spent the better part of the year living in a homeless shelter may be putting up a Christmas tree in their very own Gateway apartment.

"It's all about mankind and serving other people and God," Mr. Sparks says, tapping the blueprints for the Gateway apartment project. And when you consider that your duty, it's hard to accept any thanks, especially publicly. When the shelter's new building was named for him, Mr. Sparks insisted that the media not be invited to the ceremony. But Ms. Sipiora has urged him for years to step into the spotlight, not to take a bow,! but to inspire others to give.

Besides, for the 123 people living in the shelter right now, it must be gratifying to know that a man who makes millions by investing in people is investing in them. He cares. "It is so rewarding to see someone make it," he says. And thanks to him and the pay-it-forward multiplier effect that he has started, more people will make it.

So what's next, after Gateway? When I asked, Mr. Sparks eyed the blueprints on the table and smiled. He looked across the table at Ms. Sipiora and said, "Lynne, what's the need?"

Michael Landauer is the assistant editorial page editor for suburbs. His e-mail address is mlandauer@dallasnews.com.

The Samaritan Inn, located in McKinney, is the only homeless shelter in Collin County and is regularly full. One reason for homelessness in our county is the high cost of housing. In an effort to assist those people who are living in the shelter and working full time but still can not leave, because they are unable to afford market value rents; the  North Texas Gateway apartments are being built.

The Gateway apartments will be a complex consisting of twenty units- ten one bedroom and ten two bedrooms. They will be located directly across the street from the current facility. Residents of the Samaritan Inn, who meet specific criteria, will be leased an apartment from 6 to 18 months at a subsidized rent. This transitional housing program will provide them with the time they need to save money, change jobs or obtain additional education so that they are ultimately able to acquire traditional housing.

“This has been a problem for quite some time, says Lynne Sipiora, Executive Director of the Samaritan Inn. People are doing everything they should to become independent but they simply aren’t making the money they need to afford appropriate housing. Minimum wage jobs simply can not support a person, let alone a family”. This complex is the first of its kind in Collin County and is being funded by a single donor. The Marc A Sparks family has long been a supporter of the Samaritan Inn and committed to this project after becoming aware of the urgent need. Typically transitional housing projects such as this; have been funded by government grants that require a two to five year wait from conception to completion. Bureaucracy and a variety of contingencies slow the process down and often times have extremely narrow admission requirements. The Marc A Sparks family overwhelmingly, generous contribution will accelerate the building process and enable those in need to be immediately placed in their new homes.         The Sparks donations have  played a significant role in making the Samaritan Inn not just a shelter, but a fully comprehensive agency that addresses the entire continuum of services that are required to help make people productive members of society once again. The North Texas Gateway apartments represents the final step; the ultimate “gateway” to independence.

On Thursday, November 30th a groundbreaking ceremony will be held at 11:45 to celebrate this momentous occasion in Collin County history.

Laptop Gift to Dallas CASA Kids Provides New Educational Opportunities

DALLAS, November 10, 2006 -- Ten children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect and placed in protective care in Dallas have a brighter future today thanks to the generous donation of ten new Dell laptop computers from Sparky’s Kids. Based in Dallas, and founded by Marc A Sparks, Sparky’s Kids (www.sparkyskids.com) is dedicated to providing new, high quality computers to less fortunate children who desire to learn, yet are financially disadvantaged. Sparky’s Kids has donated hundreds of new computers to well deserving kids and computer labs. Dallas CASA is grateful for the ten new laptops that will give children in foster care a better chance for educational success which will give them a brighter future.
About CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates)

For 26 years, Dallas CASA has recruited and trained volunteer advocates to speak for child victims of abuse and neglect in the Dallas County District Juvenile and Family Courts. Through thousands of volunteer advocate hours each year, CASA offers Dallas County abused and neglected children a voice in the court system.

When told of the generosity of Sparky’s Kids, Dallas CASA Executive Director, Beverly Levy, said, “This wonderful gift helps our kids keep pace in schools where computer-based learning is so critical and open up a new world of education and communication to kids who otherwise wouldn't have the up-to-date technology that they need.”

Gateway
Almost a year ago the Samaritan Inn began investigating some of the causes of homelessness in Collin County. The results were not surprising: a lack of affordable housing topped the list.

In Collin County the average cost of a one bedroom apartment is $650 per month, in addition; a security deposit, utility deposits and an application fee are regularly required, this makes housing out of reach for most people who earn minimum wage. We come across this problem often at the Samaritan Inn-people have completed our program, they have secured employment and are ready to move out, but there is simply no affordable place to go.

In December 2005 the Marc A. Sparks family became aware of this problem and purchased 1.3 acres of land directly across the street from our current facility and have committed to constructing a twenty unit apartment complex. The apartments will be donated to the Samaritan Inn upon completion and will provide transitional housing for people at subsidized rents so that they can take the time necessary to get further education or training or save money so they are able to manage market value rents.

This innovative and critically needed program is the first of its kind in Collin County. Residents will benefit from their proximity to the Inn so that they can continue to attend classes or receive counseling if necessary and C Cart (McKinney’s public transportation) will also be easily accessed.

The apartments will be one and two bedroom units, with one and two baths, a spacious floor plan and many appointments. The complex has been christened “Gateway” as it will be the final ‘gateway’ to independence for the people who have worked so diligently to get there.

We salute the Sparks family’s overwhelming generosity and their desire to help those who need a hand up, not a hand out.

What better way to end the school year than with an end-of-the-summer bash? Recently, one of Texans Can!'s biggest supporters, Sparky's Kids, hosted a picnic in Addison, Texas, recognizing all Dallas-Fort Worth Can! students who received one of 375 computers awarded from the Sparky's Kids Computers For Kids program.

Thanks to GlobalTec, Sparky's Kids and Marc Sparks, students, staff and administrators enjoyed some barbeque on a warm, sunny day at the Addison Circle Park celebrating the achievements of those students who have worked hard, and had great attendance.

The festivities included a performance by South City, a popular Christian hip-hop group, and presentations by Grant East, Texans Can! founder and president emeritus, and Dallas Childrens Charities President Steve Crane.
Texans Can! would like to thank all the sponsors for hosting this wonderful event for our students.

Marc Sparks congratulating computer recipents.

NEW AT THE INN...
State-of-the-Art Computer Lab

In Honor of Marc Sparks

The Samaritan Inn honored Marc Sparks for his compassionate heart and generous contributions by naming our new facility in his honor. A plaque has been erected just outside of our main entrance that reads:

A Samaritan is one who is generous and ready to help fellow beings in distress. The Samaritan Inn is named for a man who personifies that definition, a man who has a deep personal commitment and passion for helping homeless individuals and families, a man who lives his life as a Good Samaritan.

Marc Sparks began his faithful service to the Samaritan Inn in the early 1990’s when he began bringing staple items for the residents. This special man has made a difference in so many ways.

Marc has a simple but profound philosophy about giving, as found in Luke 12:48, where Jesus said “from everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Marc lives his life by this passage.

Because of the major impact he has had on the success of the Samaritan Inn and the example Marc sets for his fellowman, The Samaritan Inn Board of Directors proudly names this facility in his honor.”

Thank you Marc- you are our friend and angel.

From the Heart...

This fall, C.A.R.E. received a leadership gift to under-write new habitat construction. Dallas entrepreneur and investment wizard George Thompson, along with partner Marc Sparks, probably thought they were just writing a check... for the cats. Little did they know that they were writing the next chapter in the growth of the Center. George and Marc provided the funding required to construct new enclosures as well as a special leopard habitat.

When George Thompson first learned about the hands-on training retreats with lions and tigers that are held at the Center, he was gung-ho! It turns out that George is "King of the Jungle" in his own right. The Center's Executive Director, Heidi Berry, was just thrilled when George called to arrange his own private retreat - with a camera crew. George took home some great photos and wonderful memories but he left his heart with C.A.R.E.

Phase I of the construction project has already been completed. Several cats are now enjoying their roomy new home. Lioness Layla has two orange tigress roommates, Rasa and Sydney. All three will celebrate their second birthday soon. Special thanks to Ronnie Blackwell, whose welding talent and very hard work has ensured that the enclosures are safe and strong.

The construction of the Thompson Leopard Habitat is the next phase of the project. Cassie the cougar, Milo the spotted leopard and Arctic, our magnificent snow leopard, are all purring in anticipation of moving into their comfortable new home.

Ground breaking for the construction of the new Thompson Leopard Habitat is scheduled mid- January of 2005.

George Thompson funded this project with one goal clearly in mind - the care and well being of his favorite cat Arctic, our magnificent snow leopard.

A total of 75 brand new Dell computers were awarded to deserving Texans Can! students among the six metroplex Can! campuses! The students that earned the "Sparky's Kids" computers received the computers at their local campus' Winner's Circle Programs. Sparky's Kids has chosen to partner with Texans Can! for the 2004-2005 school year! Sparky's Kids is dedicated to providing new, high-quality computers to financially disadvantaged youth so that the quality of their education can be maximized. Sparky's Kids has created a specialized computer incentive program for Texans Can! students who are making positive educational choices in their lives. The incentive program is set to award deserving students with a brand new Dell computer at the end of each school term. A total of 375 computers will be awarded during the 2004-2005 schools among the six metroplex Can! campuses.