SAN ANTONIO -- The efforts to help more people in need could actually lead to fewer people being helped. The expansion of SAMM Ministries to Haven for Hope has made their costs so high, they say they can't afford it.
Now one couple is challenging the area to step up just like they are.
Rex and Deborah Amini are willing to match a quarter of a million dollars to help out SAMM Ministries. However, it comes with an expiration date, and that's where you come in.
Since its 1983 launch, SAMM Ministries has helped many of those who are homeless and even those at risk of becoming homeless in San Antonio.
The need for shelters became so great through the years, they actually had to move their emergency shelter from 910 West Commerce to a bigger facility, which they did earlier this year to Haven for Hope, a private non-profit aimed at transforming the lives of homeless men, women and children in the San Antonio/Bexar County area.
However, it comes at a price. "At the Haven for Hope budget for 2011, it's going to be $2.5 million. The old shelter budget was about $1.3 million, so we're going to experience a $1.2 million increase next year," said Navarra Williams, President & CEO of SAMM Ministries.
With SAMM Ministries' move to the Haven for Hope campus, the number of beds has increased from 350 to more than 980. Their increased overhead expenses have increased $700,000 per year.
As a result, two well-known San Antonio philanthropists issued a challenge grant for SAMM Ministries back in August, but it is scheduled to end on Sept. 30.
"For every dollar that someone sends to us, the Aminis will match that dollar up to $250,000 for those two months," Williams said.
Williams add that since SAMMinistries is only running the residential facilities at the Haven for Hope campus, they still have to pay for common area maintenance charges, staffing and basic necessities like linens and toiletries.
SAMM Ministries needs to raise that $2.5 million to operate on the Haven for Hope campus. So now the ministry that helps so many is now asking for help, too.
"Again, we exist because of the generosity of private citizens in San Antonio,” Williams said.
If you would like to make a contribution, go to www.Samm.Org or call 210-340-0302. Remember it's tax deductible.
