Santa Maria Library - Good Samaritan makes good on its name

Good Samaritan makes good on its name
Lompoc Record: January 15, 2011 by Brian Bullock

Mike Rylant knows what it’s like to be homeless.

Many years ago his job in the Central Coast oil fields dried up like a tapped out well and he found himself on the streets.

The experience is something he never forgets as he manages the Good Samaritan Shelter in Santa Maria and gets his hands dirty at every facility the shelter runs.

“I tell the guys all the time, ‘Don’t forget where you came from,’” said Rylant, known by many shelter residents as “Uncle Mike.”

The Santa Maria shelter, located at 401 W. Morrison Ave., was established in 1987 under the guidance of the North County Project Group and serves as an umbrella organization for a variety of homeless services in north Santa Barbara County. It receives funding from a number of sources, including city money from the federal Community Development Block Grant program.

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Tara Corral and her two children were living in Santa Barbara with her stepfather when he decided to move to Texas, leaving her homeless with an 11-year-old son and a 9-year-old daughter.

The circumstances left the soft-spoken Corral among many transitionally homeless families who live in motels, share homes or apartments with other families, or live at the Good Samaritan Shelter — she has been there for nearly a year. Neat and well-kept, Corral looks more like a soccer mom than one fighting to keep a roof over her kids’ heads.

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While the kids are at school, Corral attends the literacy program at Santa Maria Public Library to not only improve her job possibilities, but help her children with their homework. Right now, she relies on the shelter for both lodging and tutoring services.

“I have a lot of help here,” she said. “Kris and everybody else here is my family now.”

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Daily occupancy numbers at the Good Samaritan emergency shelter reflect the spending cycle. Goldsmith said that when the weather is good, there are fewer people using the emergency shelter at the beginning of the month, when SSI money is issued, than at the end of the month when the cash has run out.

There are a lot of reasons people become homeless, Goldsmith said, but the lack of jobs, high cost of living and inability to establish credit conspire to keep many people in shelters.

“They’re trying to get out, but the economy doesn’t let them,” she said. READ MORE !