For the past seven years, Charity Navigator has ranked SAMMinistries as a 4-star charity, which places it in the top 2% of charities across the U.S.
Programs like the SAMMinistries Transition Living and Housing Center on Blanco road, which can house nearly 80 families every day, helped the charity reach the 4-star status.
“This a place where families get the opportunity, for up to two years, to work themselves back to self-sufficiency," said SAMMinistries President and CEO Navarra Williams.
The building is set up like a dormitory where every family has a room with bunkbeds and their own large refrigerator in a community kitchen. Running the center costs around $2 million per year with 350 people per day using all of SAMM's services.
People who live at the center have two years to turn their lives around while adhering to a strict plan.
“30% of whatever they earn has to go towards either savings or paying back their debt,” Williams said. “We’ve had many people that have gone through this program; they’ve left here with $10,000 they can use to help restart their lives or they’ve cleared up $20,000 in debt.”
Roland Raissez said his wife and six kids are have been at the center for about a year. They moved to San Antonio following the death of his mother-in-law. Right now he’s in a transition period and is receiving help.
“They’ve helped me get this job with Vutex, it’s with Venture Path," Raissez said. "It’s a temporary agency and I’ve been with Vutex about 90 days already,” Raissez said. “I love the job and what I do and they’ve helped out a lot with my family.”
Since 2008 SAMMinistries has helped around 18,000 people from becoming homeless.
