Would You Like to Learn More About the Samaritan Center?
What is the Samaritan Center? The Center could be described as an affiliation
of professional caregivers, administrative staff, and a wide variety of community
volunteers, generally represented by a Board of Directors. The purpose of the
Samaritan Center is to restore health to the "body, mind and spirit"
of its clients. If you were to ask those clients who had benefited from such care,
perhaps they'd say that the Samaritan Center is where hope was restored to their
lives or their families. Maybe one would say: "Someone at the Center - a
friend - reached me when I thought myself unreachable, and restored my confidence
and faith."
The Samaritan Center is a not-for-profit mental health agency serving the greater
Elkhart County area since 1972. The Center's focus is on the whole person - body,
mind, and spirit - so that in addition to trained psychotherapists and pastoral
counselors, the Center employs a physician as Medical Director and clergyperson
as Executive Director. The highly successful Samaritan model originated in Elkhart
and has led to the development of Samaritan Centers serving over 400
communities in the United States and Japan.
The Samaritan Center is accredited by the Samaritan Institute as well as by
the American Association of Pastoral Counselors.
The professional staff and consultants at the Samaritan Center represent several
disciplines, including pastoral counseling, clinical psychology, social work,
and family medicine. Each therapist has undergone extensive education, training
and certification; clients may expect skilled and caring treatment, and participants
in our seminars and other programs may benefit from our therapists' education
and practical experience.
OUR MISSION STATEMENT:
Our vision: healing, hope and growth
Our concern: the whole person - mind, spirit, and body
Our approach: psychotherapy, pastoral counseling, and education
Our goal: service to all in need
WE CARRY OUT OUR MISSION BY. . .
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offering pastoral counseling and psychotherapy
for individuals, couples and families of all ages, religions
and ethnic groups
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respecting the faith and beliefs of all clients
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employing pastoral counselors who are theologically-trained
ordained ministers as well as licensed and experienced mental
health professionals
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providing consultation and networking opportunities
to businesses, churches, social agencies and other organizations
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acting as a resource to the community by offering
educational presentations as well as our "Helping the Helpers"
program, which serves "helpers" in education, social
service, counseling, health and religious fields
-
raising funds from private sources to help offset
the cost of counseling services to those who otherwise would
not be able to afford the full cost of therapy
-
exploring the relationships between body, mind
and spirit and recognizing that a counseling client's concerns
may involve some or all of these factors
-
working with other professionals to offer healing
and wholeness to the whole person
How the Samaritan Center Began and Where It Is Today
The Samaritan Center came into existence as a community agency through the
shared vision of several community leaders. Dr. Burton Kintner, a physician and
member of Elkhart's First Presbyterian Church, had long been interested in the
connection between faith and medicine, had served on state and national-level
medical association committees which addressed this issue. Pastor William J. Vamos
of First Presbyterian Church had become convinced that physical, mental and spiritual
aspects maintained a delicate balance within a person's life. He began to research
ministries that might serve as a model for the concept that he and Pastor Vamos
envisioned.
While Pastor Vamos and Dr. Kintner were in the process of exploring programs,
Reverend R.J. Ross began his duties as Minister of Parish Life at the Church.
He brought with him gifts and training in administration, which added the spark
needed to make the Samaritan Center a reality. In Dr. Kintner's words, "We
had an idea whose time had come, and R.J.'s considerable managerial skills helped
to make it flourish." Prof. Paul Miller of the Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminary also joined the conversation and contributed his insights as a theologian
and pastoral counselor.
Dr. Kintner and Rev. Ross presented their vision to Lee & Geraldine Martin
of the Martin Foundation: a church-based counseling ministry with these central
points: - There shall be no passive patient;
participants need to help heal themselves.
- The Center is to be located in a church
edifice, which speaks to the atmosphere and the relationship the
church has in the well-being of people in the community.
- Medical consultation is necessary to eliminate the possibility of physical
ailments as a first step in the healing process. Mr. Martin gladly
made a contribution to provide for the startup of the Center,
and became heavily involved in raising additional funds from area
businesses and foundations.
The Samaritan Health and Living Center opened its doors in September of 1972
as a community agency. It was housed in
the First Presbyterian Church in Elkhart.
The Martins and the Martin Foundation continued to support the development
of the Center in a variety of ways. The Martin Foundation committed to ten years
of support for the startup Center in Elkhart, and have gone far beyond that initial
commitment, contributing over $100,000 through the years and continuing their
patronage from the time of Lee and Gerry Martin's leadership through the time
when leadership was assumed by Rex and Elizabeth Martin. In addition to the financial
assistance, the Martin Foundation arranged for office space for R.J. Ross at Nibco
during the early years, and the services of an administrative assistant. Lee Martin
also consulted Lief Juhl, an advertising executive with whom he was acquainted,
and whom he credits with adding a degree of professionalism to the early years
of the Samaritan movement. Under Mr. Juhl's advisement, the name was copyrighted
and standards for accreditation were set in order to ensure the quality of services
when the Samaritan model was replicated in other communities. This foresight played
an important role in the development of over 100 Centers serving 400 communities
in the United States and Japan, which are accredited and supported by the Samaritan
Institute under the leadership of R.J. Ross.
The Martins supported R.J. Ross's determination to fund the Center privately,
instead of accepting federal funds. This philosophy has stood the Center in good
stead, particularly at times over the years when federal funds for such services
have been cut substantially, causing many agencies to downsize their services.
Standing with only community support, the Center was able to continue its growth.
Today, the Samaritan Fund continues to grow and meet the needs of many who
may not otherwise have received the life-changing help they so desperately needed.
The Samaritan Center, with the help of caring community members, has also created
funds to serve special client groups. The Silent Samaritan Fund, a "women
helping women" program, came into being here in 1994, when then Executive
Director Dr. George Frey, who learned of a similar program in Portland, Oregon,
propose to Phid Wells, President of the Board of Directors, that this Center create
a similar fund. Ms. Wells supported the concept and recruited Lois Dusthimer and
Bev Croxall to join the Board and start the fund with the support of the women
of the Board of Directors. With the goal of providing fee assistance for women
in need, a Silent Samaritan benefit luncheon is held ever other year. As a further
show of support, many Silent Samaritans contribute to the fund during off years
when no luncheon is held. The Small Fry Samaritan Fund was created in 2000 with
a grant from the Alpha Rho Chapter of Tri-Kappa and helps fund counseling for
children. Also, the Pastors Referral Fund, which began in 2000 with an anonymous
donation, underwrites the cost of one initial assessment for each local congregation
per year to be used by the person, couple, or family the minister designates.
In the history of our various Samaritan funds, over $240,000 in fee assistance
has been applied to offset the cost of services for clients in need.
Initially, the Samaritan Center was housed in the building of First Presbyterian
Church rent-free by agreement of the Church's Board of Trustees. This ministry
began operation on a one-afternoon-per-week basis, with Dr. Kintner as the physician,
R.J. Ross as the director, and three counselors to help the many clients who sought
care within the supportive environment of the Church. Within months, the Center
began operating five days a week, with later hours two evenings per week, as it
still does to date. By 1989, the Church had obtained the residence at 221 East
Crawford Street, and has housed the Center, still rent-free, in this facility
since then. In 1992, the Burton E. Kintner, MD, Library was constructed and dedicated
as part of the Center's facility.
Today, the Elkhart Samaritan Center continues to serve the whole person - body,
mind and spirit. As in the beginning, the Center has always employed a clergy
person as its Executive Director and a physician as its Medical Director. It maintains
accreditation with the Samaritan Institute and the American Association of Pastoral
Counselors and offers skilled, caring treatment by a multidisciplinary staff including
professionals in the disciplines of pastoral counseling, clinical psychology,
social work and family medicine. Currently, the Center has covenant relationships
with ten area congregations, six of which provide space for satellite offices.
This model of Center-Church relationships and space-sharing has become the standard
for the other Samaritan Centers that have followed. In addition to counseling,
the Center also offers a wide variety of community education so that participants
in our "Helping the Helpers" program and seminars in churches and other
organizations may benefit from our therapists' education and extensive practical
experience.
Executive Directors of the Samaritan Center
The Rev. R.J. Ross
The Rev. Dr. Gerald Toshalis
The Rev. Dr. William Scar
The Rev. Dr. George H. Frey
The Rev. Dr. Gregory A. Hinkle (present)
Presidents of the Board of Directors of the Samaritan Center
Burton Kintner, M.D.
Rosemary Bond
Tom Kuhn
Sydney Reickhoff
The Rev. Marcus Blaising
Robert Hodgson
Dean Burket
David Steede
Robert Gordon
Dian Holdeman
Doug Opheim
Dottie Arnold
Phid Wells
Connie Minzey
Steve Eldridge
Stan Rupnow
Kathy Freese
Gordon MacKenzie
Robert Homan, Jr.
John T. Hutchings, Ph.D.
Martha Peterson
The Rev. Stephen B. Braden
Paul Romanetz (Present)
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