On any given night, in the greater Texarkana community there are over 250 individuals, who are homeless. The Randy Sams‘ Outreach Shelter serves to try and stop the cycle of homelessness. The shelter helps families and individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness such as men, women, children, veterans, the hungry, the low-income, and those who are unemployed or underemployed. Every year the shelter serves over 7,000 clients, that includes, the shelters residents and people within the community. To date, Randy Sams’ has transitioned over 500 clients to permanent housing. Providing services such as baby, utility, and rental assistance and will also purchase bus tickets for residents who are relocating for work or to be near family. The primary mission of the shelter is to provide meals and a place to sleep for the homeless, other services include, life skills training, employment referral, social security advocacy, medical referrals and escort, and prescription drug assistance.
About 55 residents, including 8 – 10 women, call the shelter home. At Randy Sams’ they are able to seek refuge from the harsh elements of the streets. The 90-Day Resident Program allows all residents to meet with the on-site Case Manager in order to obtain permanent housing and employment.
The Spirit of St. Michael’s, medical van comes once a week to offer screenings and medical advice to the residents. Many volunteers come into the shelter to serve the residents food, help with can food drives, organize and help with the up keep. Every evening a church group or a group of individuals come in to prepare and serve dinner. The shelter was founded in 1993, after the death of Randy Sams. Having been an active member in the soup kitchen at St. James Episcopal Church, Randy’s parents donated the land and the seed money to start the shelter.
Although the Randy Sams’ Outreach Shelter provides refuge for its’ clients, this is only the first step in combating homelessness.
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