WINTER 2006

weakness. (Indeed, there are many who still harbor that unfounded prejudice.) Our understanding of mental health has come a long way since the 1843 M'Naghten case, and it's actually come a long way since the church community in Elkhart started the Samaritan Center thirty years ago. One thing has not changed--in fact, it has gotten worse: the onrush of " stress" in our daily lives.

Stress comes in many forms: it comes from our families, it arises within our business organizations, from customers, bosses and co-workers, the bullies on the school playground create terrible stress in the lives of innocent children, and it arises from faulty or complicated products made by the modern business community. Simple misfortune, like mental or physical illness, can also be a source of disabling stress.

All of us carry a different capacity to deal with stress. In fact, each member of our community has, I suspect, a " hot button" which could create stress and crippling despair.

Fortunately, the mental health professionals at the Samaritan Center are exceptionally well trained to deal with the issues brought to them. Perhaps even more fortunately, there is a better understanding of mental health and a much better acceptance of the importance of the need for mental health professionals.

The Samaritan Center therapists and counselors perform some of the most important work in the community. They provide the guidance needed for adults, children, and families to deal with overwhelming stress and despair.
While many of our clients pay the modest fees we charge to keep the Samaritan Center running, a large number of persons, especially children, do not have the financial means to obtain our services. Therefore, your support of the Samaritan Center's mission significantly improves the lives of the members of our community.

James R. Brotherson
President, 2005

The Year in Review

In last year's Annual Report, I talked about the Samaritan Center as being poised for a new journey. We had made a commitment to grow in size and in productivity. We were searching for new clinicians, looking for new ways to tell our story to the Elkhart County community, and exploring new avenues of fund development.

As outgoing Board President Jim Brotherson notes in the cover article, a lot has happened! We have brought two new clinicians on board, and they are steadily building caseloads. One of them, Dr. Janet Boyd, has also worked as Program Coordinator, bringing new creativity to our efforts to increase community awareness. The other, Dr. Carol Singler, has expanded the range of our services with her expertise in chemical dependency assessments and treatment.

Our Board of Directors had tremendous success in a new venture: our "Evening with Frank DeFord." This wonderful event was a win for everyone: participants had a delightful time; the Center raised its visibility in the community to new heights; and the people we serve benefited from the Elkhart County community's generosity.

At year's end we had much to celebrate: an expanded staff, an all-time high in fund development, an increase in service delivery. We start 2006 with great momentum, as well as a continued commitment to the "healing, hope, and growth" that form our unique contribution to the community.

Covenant Congregations

One thing that I encounter with many clients is that they become stuck. It can be frustrating but is such a joy when they are finally able to move on towards healing.

People often become stuck because there is something going on that has to complete itself before they can get where they want to go. There are many ways to transition from the point of being stuck to the point of growth and healing . Sometimes just talking helps and there is an "aha moment". Sometimes it isn't a particular moment but rather a gradual movement. Education, a ceremony or ritual, or even confession can help people  work through the things which are holding them back.

I worked with a young man who was grieving the loss of a loved one. He was struggling in school, was irritable and anxious, afraid to be alone and developed some compulsive behaviors. He really missed the person who had died as they had been quite close but the deeper issue was that he was afraid of dying himself. He didn't know what happened after death and the fear was that there would simply be nothing. His fear kept him frozen. He was able to talk about some of his experiences and the beliefs of others he admired.

Sports Illustrated writer and author Frank DeFord told an Elkhart audience of 330 that the the best and the worst of humankind. DeFord was the featured speaker at the Samaritan Center's fall fundraiser.

DeFord lamented the commercialization and big business nature of college sports that offers scholarships to promising athletes but not to aspiring musicians or talented artists. "Such practices foster an anti-intellectual attitude that elevates sports above literature and music," DeFord said. "You just don't find the head of the music department standing outside the admissions office saying, ‘there's this tenor from South Carolina—he's flunked all of his courses and in fact he's in jail right now for assault, but he's got a great voice.'"

"Sadly," DeFord also noted, "gamesmanship has come to replace sportsmanship. The old adage that ‘It doesn't matter whether you win or lose but how you play the game' was superseded by Vince Lombardi's line that ‘winning isn't the most  important thing, it's the only thing' which has now been superseded by  ‘in your face' play which seeks not only to win at all costs but to humiliate your opponent."

Yet DeFord also spoke of the ability of sports to foster teamwork that carries over into other arenas, to teach men to care about one another in ways that women seem to inherently know and to unify people despite their diversity. "Jackie Robinson was a black hero," DeFord said. "By the time Michael Jackson came along, he was a national and international hero."

Our name comes from an age-old story about a man (the Samaritan) who helped an injured victim after others passed him by. The Samaritan didn't provide the help directly, however. He took the victim to an inn and paid the innkeeper to provide the care.

If we apply that story, the Samaritan Center functions as the inn; the clinical staff are the innkeepers. For our "Evening with Frank DeFord," the true Samaritans were the members of the Board of Directors, who worked creatively and tirelessly to bring that wonderful evening to life; the major benefactors (see the list), whose generosity in support of our mission was truly amazing; and the many participants whose presence was also a gift of caring.

On behalf of the "neighbors" we serve, let me express profound gratitude to all who supported our mission that night, and to the much larger group whose incredible support each year keeps our "inn" available to those in need. Thank you!

2005 Board of Directors