Tour of Hope --- The Super Hub

The good news is the Samaritan Center , a multi-service resource center, is the largest One Stop Shop in the country.

The bad news is the Samaritan Center is the largest One Stop Shop in the country.

During a recent visit, Brother Francis Boylan , head of the Samaritan Center, described to me with a smile how the 36 foot flag pole in front of the Center was unbolted from the ground, strapped to the top of a get away car, and zoomed down Conner Avenue on the East Side of Detroit with the Samaritan Center flag flapping in the wind.

It was a small description of the reality he and a team of professionals balance each day: work with local citizens in one of the most economically challenged neighborhoods of our region----and do it with grace, compassion and a pinch of humor.

The team at the Samaritan Center faces great human need and potential with a vision on how to move forward.

To describe the scope, scale and role of the Samaritan Center through words would be a disservice. Simply, imagine taking a former hospital (Detroit - Mercy Hospital) and turning it into a "one-stop" resource center that has in its single location over 150 organizations, programs and micro-enterprise businesses that serve over 35,000 individuals a month.

• Picture in the former morgue a thriving cosmetics business --- now a top supplier in six states.
• A dialysis center that has a 24/7 operation so 120 individuals a day can receive treatment.
• A recording studio to take local talent an move it into a marketable product.
• Computer lab to help individuals prepare for employment.
• A clothes store/Jackets for Jobs --- featured on Oprah--- to ensure woman are ready for the job interview: $21 for four top rate business outfits.
• *The former ICU rooms now are where kids come to be mentored and read to.
• *Dust and sparks flying on the fourth floor as they build the first nursing home in Detroit in over 40 years.

The Samaritan Center is just four years old....now finding its way in the east side community. The Center is creating a new path: one that is increasingly being modeled in this region and areas across the country.

That is, be part of the community --- not just a provider of service. Integrate assets, skills and programs to empower people --- don't view individuals just as recipients of service. Be less territorial --- rather---widen and include in order to provide value to others.

By the way, on the way out, Brother Francis pointed to the front entrance with a big smile: there stood a new flag pole --- now a 32 footer.