NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT
idea of the reach the ministry has. %itetto says, “:e take in
the unloved, the uncared for, the people the &hurch and our
community are not eTuipped to help.
“I explain to visitors that it isn’t that we don’t want their
support. :e need support. %ut I don’t want our relationships
to be about money,” he explains. “$ church might
send a homeless person who walks in their door to a hotel
for a week, and then what" 7hat money would go further by
bringing that individual to us.” Instead of a handout, *ood
Samaritan offers a “faithbased” living environment that
stresses responsibility, accountability and productivity.
“:hen you say ¶homeless,’ people immediately get a certain
picture,” says %itetto, “but it might be a mother with kids
who Must lost her Mob and has no family here, and nowhere to
go. 7here is no ¶homeless shelter’ in 3ort St. /ucie.”
“+omeless” might also mean someone like %ill, suffering
from dementia. $ faithful visitor to his mother’s nursing
home, he kept showing up after his mother’s death. $lthough
the former playwright was harmless, eventually the home
called police. “It was seven months before we even knew he
was on Social Security,” says 2’/eary. “+e had no I', no possessions
other than a box of his plays. :e weren’t sure how
much of what he told us was real and what was the dementia.
%asically, we Must loved on %ill, reestablished his identity
and included him in our family.”
MORE NEEDS
7hroughout the community, families are often overwhelmed
by dealing with loved ones suffering from bipolar
disorder, dementia or substance abuse. Many lack the
financial resources to place them in a facility for care. *ood >>
Patrick Pintal completed Good Samaritan’s program and came back; he and
his wife, Joy, are both on the staff. In addition to being a minister, Pintal
manages the auto repair cottage industry.
O’Leary says that what is neat about Good Samaritan’s businesses is the working atmosphere and the encouragement to do the right thing.
42 Port St. Lucie Magazine