December 6, 2023 • 24 mins
Lauren C. Vaughan
Lauren C. Vaughan currently serves as the President and CEO of Samaritan Inns, a DC non- profit dedicated to combating homelessness and addictions. She joined Samaritan Inns in Fall 2020 after two decades of experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Previously, Lauren served as Executive Director of MentorPrize, a non-profit that connects at-risk youth with adult mentors; and she served for four years as Secretary of the District of Columbia, after Mayor Muriel Bowser appointed her in January 2015.
Prior to entering government, Lauren served as Executive Director of My Sister’s Place (MSP), a decades-old, non-profit in Washington, DC that shelters, supports, and empowers survivors of domestic violence and their children. She oversaw completion of a multi-million dollar initiative to expand and renovate the organization’s emergency shelter, more than doubling its capacity. Lauren also helped create a citywide domestic violence hotline and managed 45 employees. In total, Lauren devoted 14 years to MSP, having previously served there as a volunteer and board member.
Lauren’s business experience includes leading and managing a DC-based business consulting firm and supporting the establishment of a DC-based project and construction management company in 2001. She applied her expertise to both companies simultaneously. She has served on numerous boards and currently serves on the Board of Directors for DC Vote and the Vestry of her church, St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Southwest Washington, DC.
Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Lauren moved to the metropolitan DC area to attend graduate school at The George Washington University where she earned a Master of Science in Engineering and Technology Management. Lauren holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Media from Hampton University and is a graduate of Leadership Greater Washington, Class of 2002. Lauren was recognized in 2023 as a “Woman Who Means Business” by The Washington Business Journal. Lauren resides in Upper Marlboro with her husband Horace Fauntleroy.
Lauren C. Vaughan currently serves as the President and CEO of Samaritan Inns, a DC non- profit dedicated to combating homelessness and addictions. She joined Samaritan Inns in Fall 2020 after two decades of experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Previously, Lauren served as Executive Director of MentorPrize, a non-profit that connects at-risk youth with adult mentors; and she served for four years as Secretary of the District of Columbia, after Mayor Muriel Bowser appointed her in January 2015.
Prior to entering government, Lauren served as Executive Director of My Sister’s Place (MSP), a decades-old, non-profit in Washington, DC that shelters, supports, and empowers survivors of domestic violence and their children. She oversaw completion of a multi-million dollar initiative to expand and renovate the organization’s emergency shelter, more than doubling its capacity. Lauren also helped create a citywide domestic violence hotline and managed 45 employees. In total, Lauren devoted 14 years to MSP, having previously served there as a volunteer and board member.
Lauren’s business experience includes leading and managing a DC-based business consulting firm and supporting the establishment of a DC-based project and construction management company in 2001. She applied her expertise to both companies simultaneously. She has served on numerous boards and currently serves on the Board of Directors for DC Vote and the Vestry of her church, St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Southwest Washington, DC.
Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Lauren moved to the metropolitan DC area to attend graduate school at The George Washington University where she earned a Master of Science in Engineering and Technology Management. Lauren holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Media from Hampton University and is a graduate of Leadership Greater Washington, Class of 2002. Lauren was recognized in 2023 as a “Woman Who Means Business” by The Washington Business Journal. Lauren resides in Upper Marlboro with her husband Horace Fauntleroy.
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(00:00):
M and T Bank presents CEOs youshould Know, powered by iHeart Hadi.
Let's meet Lauren Vaughan. She isthe president and CEO for Samaritan Inns,
a nonprofit in the district that helpshomeless and at risk men and women struggling
with drug and alcohol addiction. Beforewe talk more about Lauren and what she
does at Samaritan Inns, I firstasked her to talk a little bit about
(00:22):
herself, where she's from and herorigin story. I am originally from and
I grew up in Philadelphia. Imostly attended public schools in PHILLYA and graduated
from the Philadelphia High School for Girlsand went on to attend the family HBCU,
which is Hampton University. At first, I had no interest in attending
(00:43):
Hampton, but my mother made mean offer that I could not refuse.
She said, go to Hampton,Okay, your own way, and it
turned out to be the best decision. I cherished my time at Hampton and
the lifelong friendships that I made there, and I eventually moved to Washington,
d C. To attend grad schoolat George Washington University, which are both
(01:07):
grade schools. And we're so happyto have you and I know you've been
in the DMV for quite some time. We're here to talk about Samaritan Ins
and all the good work that you'vebeen doing coming up in an anniversary.
As we record this interview, Lauren'sanniversary is happening right now, the third
one in the next day, sothat's very exciting. And I'm also going
to have Lauren chair her first day, because if you think you've had a
(01:29):
first day, wait till you hearthis one. But I do want to
talk about to give this interview alittle context about before joining Samaritan Inns.
Lauren, you've done some incredible work, and I know you've been with nonprofits
before. I'd like you to talkabout what you did after school before joining
Samariton Ins, because it's really coolyour background. I've always had an interest
in helping other people. I grewup in a family that was touched by
(01:53):
domestic violence and alcoholism, and Iwas raised by a single mom. She
taught us the value of get backto others, and it was because of
those experiences that giving back is soimportant to me. My personal experiences caused
me to be or resulted in mybeing most interested in women's and children's issues.
(02:17):
After moving to d C, Ilooked for ways to get involved in
my community and began serving on theboard of an organization called My Sister's Place
MSP is DC's oldest domestic violent shelter. I originally sought out MSP to volunteer,
(02:39):
and the executive director at the timesaid, I think you would be
great on our board of directors.So I joined the board and served for
about nine years on the board ofdirectors. It was at that point that
we went through an unexpected transition andleadership and our executive director left MSP and
(03:04):
we needed someone to temporarily step inwhile we looked for our next executive So
who better than somebody from the boardto take over temporarily. But it was
it was then that I had anepiphany and I realized that this is the
kind of work that I wanted todo. I realized once I got an
(03:28):
executive director's chair that I could impactchange. I could affect change in a
much greater way than I had everbeen able to do as a board member,
and I and about a year later, I became the permanent executive director
at My Sister's Place. I servedat my sister's place for about six years
(03:49):
as the executive director. And itwas around that time that then council Member
maryel Bowser through her had in therank to be our city's next mayor.
And I always loved her and alwayswanted to work for her, and I
had my eye on a particular positionin her administration, the Secretary of the
(04:12):
District of Columbia. And I wasactually appointed to be the Secretary of d
C in twenty fifteen, and Iserved the mayor and the city for her
first term for four years. Itwas one of the It was probably the
biggest honor of my life, andI was very proud to serve the mayor
(04:33):
in the city in that way.But I realized pretty early on that I
missed doing the on the ground,frontline kind of work that I had been
doing at my sister's place. SoI always knew that after I left city
government that I would return to thenonprofit world. I came to Samaritan Inns
(04:57):
in the summer of twenty twenty.Stay on the job was an interesting one.
Well, let's put a pin inthat right there, because it really
is an interesting story. So,but what I do want to find out
because it's very obvious with your backgroundthat people and caring about people is really
important to you, whether you workedin government or for nonprofits. So as
(05:18):
I take a look and I hearabout your background, Lauren, I'm curious
because I know what Samaritan Ins wasinterested in you with your very diverse background
and very cool things that you did. But as you were recruited to be
president and CEO, what really gotyou excited about joining their organization Samaritan Ins
(05:40):
Is the values of the organization andwhat they do are what attracted me the
most. It's a Christian organization,it's founded, it's it's not just a
faith based organization, but it's aChristian organization founded on the principles of the
good Samaritan and Samaritan Ins takes peoplewhere they are, oftentimes right off the
(06:05):
street, and helps them get totheir good place. We provide structured housing
and addiction treatment and recovery services tohomeless men, women and women with children.
And it's the kind of work thatmakes sense to me, helping other
(06:28):
people rebuild and reclaim their lives.All right, we'll do We'll get a
little bit more into that about whatyou do and into the weeds, because
there really are some cool phases thatwe're going to educate our listeners about.
But I do want to talk aboutmission statement first. What's mission statement for
Samaritan Ins. Our mission statement isto provide structure, residential treatment and recovery
(06:49):
services in an environment of accountability andsupport to homeless and at risk men,
women and women with children who sufferfrom drug and alcohol addiction. Okay,
very good. Now we promise thatwe were going to talk about Lauren's first
date. Now you have to remember, at the time of this taping and
coming up tomorrow is going to beLauren's thirty year anniversary. So that means
(07:11):
Laurence started just right in right asCOVID was getting under way, about maybe
four or five months into it.Okay, so that's that. So Lauren,
you got the call, you tookthe job, your first day,
tell us how it went. Greatquestion. My very first day, The
very first email that I opened atabout eight thirty in the morning was from
(07:34):
my director of properties alerting me toa fire in one of our buildings.
Smara Denin's has a total of eightresidential properties, and it was one of
our apartment buildings that where one ofour tenants, one of our clients,
had brought a can of gasoline intohis unit, doused the mattress and set
(07:57):
it ablaze. No one was hurtand there was minimal fire damage. There's
a lot more water damage than firedamage. But it really was baptism by
fire on my very first day.And I think that's the day that I
realized that this is where I'm supposedto be helping people, helping people figure
(08:20):
it out and get to their goodplace. And I think everybody can remember
their first days on any job,and it can be a little rough.
That is really rough, and itdid throw you right into it. So
boy, I tell you what,if anything's going to get you prepared,
it would be an email like thatand have to handle that situation. So
I know a lot has happened sincethen. So we want to educate our
listeners. Lauren on samaritan Ins.If they're hearing about it for the very
(08:43):
first time, why don't you tellus exactly what you do. I know
you touched on it a little bitearlier, but let's go into the weeds
a little bit. What exactly doessamaritan Ins do? Okay, Well,
our amazing ministry has grown into afull treatment and recovery continuum. We have
(09:03):
a twenty eight day intensive treatment program, followed by longer term programs for men,
for women, and women with children. Our women's programs are one of
a kind in DC, and ourwomen with children program has an OSSI certified
child development center on the property.The third phase of our continuum is the
(09:26):
long term recovery program, where weprovide supportive, affordable housing to men and
women who have been in recovery forat least six months or working stable,
have a sponsor, and who wantto live amongst like minded peers. Lauren,
I don't know if there's a criteriato working with Samaritan Ends and getting
(09:48):
your help. But if there iscriteria, or how do people qualify?
Our services are free to men andwomen and women with children in the District
of Columbia who are suffering from addiction, and more than seventy percent of the
people who come to Samaritan Ends werehomeless. So we provide the structured housing
(10:09):
and the support and the clinical services, the clinical and therapeutic services that they
need to help them get on theroad to recovery. I'm glad you brought
this up because I've been doing alot of reading and I used to live
on the West Coast a long timeago. I've lived in San Francisco and
Portland, Oregon, and I knowwith you being in this type of business,
you'll know that homelessness is out ofcontrol on the West Coast. But
(10:31):
it's rampant everywhere in the United States, including in the district and the DMV,
and you just have to go outand drive around and you'll see it
out there. But what I'm reallyexcited about, Lauren, is nonprofits and
organizations like yours are really handling thingsthe way people are talking about the homeless
crisis. Right now, you justand I'm going to synopsize this and put
(10:52):
it into a few words, andthen Lauren can expand on this a little
bit and maybe with some statistics.In general terms, you just can't throw
a homeless person into a shelter andexpect problems to be solved. It doesn't
work that way. And that's whywhen Lauren talks about these phases, because
you're looking at alcohol addiction, andyou're looking at drug addiction, and you're
(11:13):
looking at domestic violence, and you'relooking at people that just lost their jobs
and ran the bad luck. Thereare so many different ways that you can
be homeless, and you can beby yourself, you can be with a
partner. You've seen families, whichreally strikes my heart when you see little
kids on the street begging for moneywith their parents. Out there, all
types of people out there. Sowhat I'm getting in the reading that I'm
(11:33):
doing, Lauren, is that yourphases that you put together here are at
least a start to try and helpthe epidemic that is homelessness with different phases
and the different treatment programs, Andmaybe you can just expound on that just
a little bit and how it's working. I think that part of our secret
sauce is that structured housing piece.When someone is suffering or has experienced chronic
(11:56):
homelessness and chronic substance abuse, thereis no quick fix. You can't just
put them in a program for twoweeks and expect them to have it all
together when they leave. It takesa long time, months, years to
undo the damage that has been donefrom those kinds of chronic issues. And
(12:20):
so what we provide is an intimate, caring, structured environment that gives them
the tools that they need. Sothat they can be successful when they leave
samaragan Ins. People come and staywith us, come and state samriagen Ins
(12:41):
from anywhere from thirty days to threeor four months, and we help them.
We help them by giving them providingthe counseling services and the tools that
they need so that they can whetherit's help getting their ged, whether it's
help getting jobs, jobs gets Wemeet them at their need to help them
(13:01):
get to their good place. AndI like that because what you're doing is
a follow up. You're not justputting people in a house and saying,
Okay, we gave you shelter.We're going to try and get you out
with all the tools that you hadtalked about, whether it's getting a diploma,
whether it's looking for a job,or even how to put a resume
together. And I love that you'redoing all these kind of things. So
that's wonderful. I do want totalk about funding a little bit. How
(13:22):
are you getting funded right now?Well, one of our biggest partners is
the Department of Behavioral Health, sowe are ddH certified provider for Medicaid.
We also do our own fundraising throughfoundations and grants and donations from individuals and
corporations. We're always appreciative of those. And then also at the end of
(13:46):
our interview, and I'm sure alot of our very smart listeners have already
googled Samaritan In's, but we aregoing to give you the web address at
the end, and there's a bigfat gold donate button they should check out.
And I'm sure that Lauren would suggestthat you any kind of donation in
there. What about any kind ofvolunteering? Can anybody volunteer for Samaritan Enslorn?
We love volunteers and there are anumber of volunteer opportunities here at Samaritan
(14:11):
Inns. Some of those have havedecreased since the pandemic, but the volunteer
opportunities that are still that are thatare very active. We have a dinner
fellowship program. Sometimes groups or churcheswill come in and prepare a meal at
one of our houses with the residentsthere and eat together, share and talk.
(14:37):
Those are called dinner fellowships. Wealso work with a couple of churches
who come in and do Sunday servicesat a couple of our locations, the
District Church in d c. Andfor Presbyterian Church in Bethesda. Our two
churches that we work very closely withon a regular basis. They do Monday
(15:00):
services wonderful. I did want totalk about a good story, so but
let's put a pin in that,because I'm sure you have several that are
very heartwarming with all the hard workyou've done. But I also want to
talk about challenges, and people knowfrom this series and also my public affairs
show here in DC if you listento it, that there are a lot
of challenges with nonprofits, especially whenyou're a one person ban of Lauren does
(15:22):
have, you know, a teamthat she works with, But I'm just
telling you when you run a nonprofit, folks, it's hard work, especially
the fundraising part of it, gettingdonations and working on grants and advocating it.
It's twenty four to seven, it'sthree sixty five. And I'm sure
Lauren would attest to that. ButLauren, right now, as president and
CEO, what are current challenges forSamaritan Ins in your industry? The biggest
(15:43):
challenge that we are having, andit's not just us, it's nonprofits like
us around the city and around thecountry, is a lack of staffing.
You know, COVID has changed thegame, and professionals are leaving this field
(16:03):
in droves, So there is ashortage of licensed clinical social workers, and
there's an even shorter list of thosewho are interested in coming to work in
a residential in a residential program.And you know, at the start of
the pandemic, we had to lowerour census by about fifty percent because of
(16:26):
social distancing. But then here weare three years later and I'm still at
about fifty percent of capacity, butnot because there aren't people to serve,
but because I don't have the socialworkers to provide the services. I can't
provide those Medicaid services if I don'thave the licensed clinicians. So the biggest
(16:48):
problem or the biggest challenge that we'rehaving right now is staffing. So yes,
we are hiring. Well, that'sgood to know, so you know,
folks. And the other thing thatwe're hearing too, whether I'm talking
into a place that does it cybersecurity, whether I'm talking to somebody that owns
a restaurant or somebody like Lauren thatis running a nonprofit. The workforce thing
(17:11):
has completely changed since COVID, andthe numbers are down and it's a little
bit alarming, But I hope thatpeople that are listening maybe reach out to
Lauren, because if they're looking tohire and you're looking to work, it'd
be a nice place to join.So with that said, I know that
you have some great stories. Isthere one in particular, maybe over the
last year or so that not onlywarmed your heart, but it was the
(17:33):
reason this is why we get upkind of story and this is why we
come to work, Lauren, thatyou can share with our audience. You
know, there are there are somany stories like that here at Samaritan Ens.
But one thing I want to highlightin particular about Samaritanans is that we
take care of our own. Andthere are a number of people who work
(17:59):
at samaritan Ins, who work forsmaritan Ins who came through Smartan Inns as
clients. We have staff, We'vehad staff on every level who have been
in recovery, and I have manypeople on my staff today who are in
recovery who come to do this workfor a number of reasons. They want
(18:22):
to give back because they know whatit was like and working at a place
like this keeps them close to theirown recovery journey. And that's just it.
It's a blessing to see and Iyou know, I would not have
I would not have been prior tocoming on board of Samaritan Ins, I
(18:47):
would not have been seeking to hiresomeone in recovery in the way that I
seek to hire someone in recovery todaybecause I have a much different understanding and
a preciation for what those individuals havecome through. That makes a lot of
sense because you needed to context justlike anybody does in that situation, and
(19:10):
understanding the situation after actually living inwith these people every day. I've talked
to other nonprofits where they've been helpedand then they come back and actually work
for the organization, and that's kindto be one of the best payoffs of
all time that somebody you help andnow they're working to help other people.
That is the ultimate in giving back. So I'm glad you shared that with
us. As we wrap up ourconversation, Lauren, I did want to
(19:30):
maybe just give the floor to you. People been educated about Samaritinians, but
what takeaway do you want to haveall our listeners know about Samaritinans and just
anything that's important or just final takeawaysthat you would like everybody to know.
A couple of success stories or acouple of things that have happened to us
(19:52):
or that we've achieved recently. Mostrecently, we achieved our car certification.
Previously, we were only required tobe certified by the Department of Behavioral Health
here in Washington, d C.But DBH made some changes and implemented some
new requirements for SUD providers, andthat was one of them, was that
(20:18):
we needed to be nationally accredited byone of the nationally accredited accreditation bodies.
We needed to be nationally accredited,and we had to have this in place
by October first of this year,and I'm very pleased and proud that we
received our coveted three year CAR accreditationat the end of July. We had
(20:48):
to demonstrate over a period of sixmonths, meeting twenty four hundred individual standards.
Wow. And then we had athree day survey survey site visit in
the middle of June, and wereceived our three year accreditation just a couple
of weeks ago. So I'm verypleased and proud of that. Samaritan Ins
(21:14):
has always been providing exemplary services tomen and women in Washington, d C.
But this just raises raises the bara bit and puts us at the
same level for national standards with otherSUD providers around the country. Well,
congratulations and that and that's by theway, there's no coincidence in Lauren's three
(21:37):
year anniversary and that happening. SoI love to hear that and all the
amazing work that you're doing in threeshort ears, Lauren. So we have
talked about so many cool things aboutSamaritan Ins, and I know a lot
of people are so wondering about website, social media channels and donations and volunteering.
What's the best way to find outall about that, Lauren? So,
the best way to find out aboutall of that is on our brand
(22:00):
new website at Samaritan Inns dot org. You can donate there, you can
find out more information about the programsand services that we offer, volunteer opportunities,
and all sorts of things. Werecently uh we recently hosted our first
(22:21):
signature fundraiser called the Zero Proof Soireeand Battle of the Mocktails to raise funds
and to raise friends and awareness aboutSamaritan Ins. We the Battle of the
Mocktails we had we invited eight mixologiststo come and compete to create the best
(22:41):
mocktail. Love that d C andLeon Harris was was our amazing MC.
It was a it was a funnight and just over two hundred people attended.
Chuck Todd from MSNBC was a specialguest at the event. He's been
a big support of Samaritan of SamaritanIns for several years and he actually started
(23:03):
out as a volunteer in our DinnerFellowship program. And we are going to
have the second annual Zero Proof soarein January. We decided to move the
event from April, which is alcoholAwareness month. We're moving it to dry
January, so the event will beon January twenty fourth, twenty twenty four
(23:26):
scanning. There's more information about thaton our website. That's great, and
let's give the website one more time. And also remember if you're interested in
a career and working with Lauren andher team, that's available to you as
well if you fit the criteria.So Lauren that website one more time.
Samaritan inns dot org, Forward slashCareers. That's Danny, Lauren. I
(23:47):
can't tell you what a pleasure itis to meet you and get to know
about Samaritan Ins and you and theLovely Angels are doing incredible work there in
the short three years that you've beenthere. Congratulations on the three year anniversary.
You put a lot of hard workand effort into it today and night
and on weekends. We're just appreciativethat you have the time to do this.
Continue success, and thank you somuch for joining us on CEOs you
(24:08):
should know. Thank you so much, Dennis. It's a pleasure. Our
community partner, M and T Banksupports CEOs you should know. Is part
of their ongoing commitment to building strongcommunities, and that starts by backing the
businesses within them. As a Bankfor communities, M and T believes in
dedicating time, talent, and resourcesto help local businesses thrive, because when
(24:30):
businesses succeed, our communities succeed.
M and T Bank presents CEOs youshould Know, powered by iHeart Hadi.
Let's meet Lauren Vaughan. She isthe president and CEO for Samaritan Inns,
a nonprofit in the district that helpshomeless and at risk men and women struggling
with drug and alcohol addiction. Beforewe talk more about Lauren and what she
does at Samaritan Inns, I firstasked her to talk a little bit about
(00:22):
herself, where she's from and herorigin story. I am originally from and
I grew up in Philadelphia. Imostly attended public schools in PHILLYA and graduated
from the Philadelphia High School for Girlsand went on to attend the family HBCU,
which is Hampton University. At first, I had no interest in attending
(00:43):
Hampton, but my mother made mean offer that I could not refuse.
She said, go to Hampton,Okay, your own way, and it
turned out to be the best decision. I cherished my time at Hampton and
the lifelong friendships that I made there, and I eventually moved to Washington,
d C. To attend grad schoolat George Washington University, which are both
(01:07):
grade schools. And we're so happyto have you and I know you've been
in the DMV for quite some time. We're here to talk about Samaritan Ins
and all the good work that you'vebeen doing coming up in an anniversary.
As we record this interview, Lauren'sanniversary is happening right now, the third
one in the next day, sothat's very exciting. And I'm also going
to have Lauren chair her first day, because if you think you've had a
(01:29):
first day, wait till you hearthis one. But I do want to
talk about to give this interview alittle context about before joining Samaritan Inns.
Lauren, you've done some incredible work, and I know you've been with nonprofits
before. I'd like you to talkabout what you did after school before joining
Samariton Ins, because it's really coolyour background. I've always had an interest
in helping other people. I grewup in a family that was touched by
(01:53):
domestic violence and alcoholism, and Iwas raised by a single mom. She
taught us the value of get backto others, and it was because of
those experiences that giving back is soimportant to me. My personal experiences caused
me to be or resulted in mybeing most interested in women's and children's issues.
(02:17):
After moving to d C, Ilooked for ways to get involved in
my community and began serving on theboard of an organization called My Sister's Place
MSP is DC's oldest domestic violent shelter. I originally sought out MSP to volunteer,
(02:39):
and the executive director at the timesaid, I think you would be
great on our board of directors.So I joined the board and served for
about nine years on the board ofdirectors. It was at that point that
we went through an unexpected transition andleadership and our executive director left MSP and
(03:04):
we needed someone to temporarily step inwhile we looked for our next executive So
who better than somebody from the boardto take over temporarily. But it was
it was then that I had anepiphany and I realized that this is the
kind of work that I wanted todo. I realized once I got an
(03:28):
executive director's chair that I could impactchange. I could affect change in a
much greater way than I had everbeen able to do as a board member,
and I and about a year later, I became the permanent executive director
at My Sister's Place. I servedat my sister's place for about six years
(03:49):
as the executive director. And itwas around that time that then council Member
maryel Bowser through her had in therank to be our city's next mayor.
And I always loved her and alwayswanted to work for her, and I
had my eye on a particular positionin her administration, the Secretary of the
(04:12):
District of Columbia. And I wasactually appointed to be the Secretary of d
C in twenty fifteen, and Iserved the mayor and the city for her
first term for four years. Itwas one of the It was probably the
biggest honor of my life, andI was very proud to serve the mayor
(04:33):
in the city in that way.But I realized pretty early on that I
missed doing the on the ground,frontline kind of work that I had been
doing at my sister's place. SoI always knew that after I left city
government that I would return to thenonprofit world. I came to Samaritan Inns
(04:57):
in the summer of twenty twenty.Stay on the job was an interesting one.
Well, let's put a pin inthat right there, because it really
is an interesting story. So,but what I do want to find out
because it's very obvious with your backgroundthat people and caring about people is really
important to you, whether you workedin government or for nonprofits. So as
(05:18):
I take a look and I hearabout your background, Lauren, I'm curious
because I know what Samaritan Ins wasinterested in you with your very diverse background
and very cool things that you did. But as you were recruited to be
president and CEO, what really gotyou excited about joining their organization Samaritan Ins
(05:40):
Is the values of the organization andwhat they do are what attracted me the
most. It's a Christian organization,it's founded, it's it's not just a
faith based organization, but it's aChristian organization founded on the principles of the
good Samaritan and Samaritan Ins takes peoplewhere they are, oftentimes right off the
(06:05):
street, and helps them get totheir good place. We provide structured housing
and addiction treatment and recovery services tohomeless men, women and women with children.
And it's the kind of work thatmakes sense to me, helping other
(06:28):
people rebuild and reclaim their lives.All right, we'll do We'll get a
little bit more into that about whatyou do and into the weeds, because
there really are some cool phases thatwe're going to educate our listeners about.
But I do want to talk aboutmission statement first. What's mission statement for
Samaritan Ins. Our mission statement isto provide structure, residential treatment and recovery
(06:49):
services in an environment of accountability andsupport to homeless and at risk men,
women and women with children who sufferfrom drug and alcohol addiction. Okay,
very good. Now we promise thatwe were going to talk about Lauren's first
date. Now you have to remember, at the time of this taping and
coming up tomorrow is going to beLauren's thirty year anniversary. So that means
(07:11):
Laurence started just right in right asCOVID was getting under way, about maybe
four or five months into it.Okay, so that's that. So Lauren,
you got the call, you tookthe job, your first day,
tell us how it went. Greatquestion. My very first day, The
very first email that I opened atabout eight thirty in the morning was from
(07:34):
my director of properties alerting me toa fire in one of our buildings.
Smara Denin's has a total of eightresidential properties, and it was one of
our apartment buildings that where one ofour tenants, one of our clients,
had brought a can of gasoline intohis unit, doused the mattress and set
(07:57):
it ablaze. No one was hurtand there was minimal fire damage. There's
a lot more water damage than firedamage. But it really was baptism by
fire on my very first day.And I think that's the day that I
realized that this is where I'm supposedto be helping people, helping people figure
(08:20):
it out and get to their goodplace. And I think everybody can remember
their first days on any job,and it can be a little rough.
That is really rough, and itdid throw you right into it. So
boy, I tell you what,if anything's going to get you prepared,
it would be an email like thatand have to handle that situation. So
I know a lot has happened sincethen. So we want to educate our
listeners. Lauren on samaritan Ins.If they're hearing about it for the very
(08:43):
first time, why don't you tellus exactly what you do. I know
you touched on it a little bitearlier, but let's go into the weeds
a little bit. What exactly doessamaritan Ins do? Okay, Well,
our amazing ministry has grown into afull treatment and recovery continuum. We have
(09:03):
a twenty eight day intensive treatment program, followed by longer term programs for men,
for women, and women with children. Our women's programs are one of
a kind in DC, and ourwomen with children program has an OSSI certified
child development center on the property.The third phase of our continuum is the
(09:26):
long term recovery program, where weprovide supportive, affordable housing to men and
women who have been in recovery forat least six months or working stable,
have a sponsor, and who wantto live amongst like minded peers. Lauren,
I don't know if there's a criteriato working with Samaritan Ends and getting
(09:48):
your help. But if there iscriteria, or how do people qualify?
Our services are free to men andwomen and women with children in the District
of Columbia who are suffering from addiction, and more than seventy percent of the
people who come to Samaritan Ends werehomeless. So we provide the structured housing
(10:09):
and the support and the clinical services, the clinical and therapeutic services that they
need to help them get on theroad to recovery. I'm glad you brought
this up because I've been doing alot of reading and I used to live
on the West Coast a long timeago. I've lived in San Francisco and
Portland, Oregon, and I knowwith you being in this type of business,
you'll know that homelessness is out ofcontrol on the West Coast. But
(10:31):
it's rampant everywhere in the United States, including in the district and the DMV,
and you just have to go outand drive around and you'll see it
out there. But what I'm reallyexcited about, Lauren, is nonprofits and
organizations like yours are really handling thingsthe way people are talking about the homeless
crisis. Right now, you justand I'm going to synopsize this and put
(10:52):
it into a few words, andthen Lauren can expand on this a little
bit and maybe with some statistics.In general terms, you just can't throw
a homeless person into a shelter andexpect problems to be solved. It doesn't
work that way. And that's whywhen Lauren talks about these phases, because
you're looking at alcohol addiction, andyou're looking at drug addiction, and you're
(11:13):
looking at domestic violence, and you'relooking at people that just lost their jobs
and ran the bad luck. Thereare so many different ways that you can
be homeless, and you can beby yourself, you can be with a
partner. You've seen families, whichreally strikes my heart when you see little
kids on the street begging for moneywith their parents. Out there, all
types of people out there. Sowhat I'm getting in the reading that I'm
(11:33):
doing, Lauren, is that yourphases that you put together here are at
least a start to try and helpthe epidemic that is homelessness with different phases
and the different treatment programs, Andmaybe you can just expound on that just
a little bit and how it's working. I think that part of our secret
sauce is that structured housing piece.When someone is suffering or has experienced chronic
(11:56):
homelessness and chronic substance abuse, thereis no quick fix. You can't just
put them in a program for twoweeks and expect them to have it all
together when they leave. It takesa long time, months, years to
undo the damage that has been donefrom those kinds of chronic issues. And
(12:20):
so what we provide is an intimate, caring, structured environment that gives them
the tools that they need. Sothat they can be successful when they leave
samaragan Ins. People come and staywith us, come and state samriagen Ins
(12:41):
from anywhere from thirty days to threeor four months, and we help them.
We help them by giving them providingthe counseling services and the tools that
they need so that they can whetherit's help getting their ged, whether it's
help getting jobs, jobs gets Wemeet them at their need to help them
(13:01):
get to their good place. AndI like that because what you're doing is
a follow up. You're not justputting people in a house and saying,
Okay, we gave you shelter.We're going to try and get you out
with all the tools that you hadtalked about, whether it's getting a diploma,
whether it's looking for a job,or even how to put a resume
together. And I love that you'redoing all these kind of things. So
that's wonderful. I do want totalk about funding a little bit. How
(13:22):
are you getting funded right now?Well, one of our biggest partners is
the Department of Behavioral Health, sowe are ddH certified provider for Medicaid.
We also do our own fundraising throughfoundations and grants and donations from individuals and
corporations. We're always appreciative of those. And then also at the end of
(13:46):
our interview, and I'm sure alot of our very smart listeners have already
googled Samaritan In's, but we aregoing to give you the web address at
the end, and there's a bigfat gold donate button they should check out.
And I'm sure that Lauren would suggestthat you any kind of donation in
there. What about any kind ofvolunteering? Can anybody volunteer for Samaritan Enslorn?
We love volunteers and there are anumber of volunteer opportunities here at Samaritan
(14:11):
Inns. Some of those have havedecreased since the pandemic, but the volunteer
opportunities that are still that are thatare very active. We have a dinner
fellowship program. Sometimes groups or churcheswill come in and prepare a meal at
one of our houses with the residentsthere and eat together, share and talk.
(14:37):
Those are called dinner fellowships. Wealso work with a couple of churches
who come in and do Sunday servicesat a couple of our locations, the
District Church in d c. Andfor Presbyterian Church in Bethesda. Our two
churches that we work very closely withon a regular basis. They do Monday
(15:00):
services wonderful. I did want totalk about a good story, so but
let's put a pin in that,because I'm sure you have several that are
very heartwarming with all the hard workyou've done. But I also want to
talk about challenges, and people knowfrom this series and also my public affairs
show here in DC if you listento it, that there are a lot
of challenges with nonprofits, especially whenyou're a one person ban of Lauren does
(15:22):
have, you know, a teamthat she works with, But I'm just
telling you when you run a nonprofit, folks, it's hard work, especially
the fundraising part of it, gettingdonations and working on grants and advocating it.
It's twenty four to seven, it'sthree sixty five. And I'm sure
Lauren would attest to that. ButLauren, right now, as president and
CEO, what are current challenges forSamaritan Ins in your industry? The biggest
(15:43):
challenge that we are having, andit's not just us, it's nonprofits like
us around the city and around thecountry, is a lack of staffing.
You know, COVID has changed thegame, and professionals are leaving this field
(16:03):
in droves, So there is ashortage of licensed clinical social workers, and
there's an even shorter list of thosewho are interested in coming to work in
a residential in a residential program.And you know, at the start of
the pandemic, we had to lowerour census by about fifty percent because of
(16:26):
social distancing. But then here weare three years later and I'm still at
about fifty percent of capacity, butnot because there aren't people to serve,
but because I don't have the socialworkers to provide the services. I can't
provide those Medicaid services if I don'thave the licensed clinicians. So the biggest
(16:48):
problem or the biggest challenge that we'rehaving right now is staffing. So yes,
we are hiring. Well, that'sgood to know, so you know,
folks. And the other thing thatwe're hearing too, whether I'm talking
into a place that does it cybersecurity, whether I'm talking to somebody that owns
a restaurant or somebody like Lauren thatis running a nonprofit. The workforce thing
(17:11):
has completely changed since COVID, andthe numbers are down and it's a little
bit alarming, But I hope thatpeople that are listening maybe reach out to
Lauren, because if they're looking tohire and you're looking to work, it'd
be a nice place to join.So with that said, I know that
you have some great stories. Isthere one in particular, maybe over the
last year or so that not onlywarmed your heart, but it was the
(17:33):
reason this is why we get upkind of story and this is why we
come to work, Lauren, thatyou can share with our audience. You
know, there are there are somany stories like that here at Samaritan Ens.
But one thing I want to highlightin particular about Samaritanans is that we
take care of our own. Andthere are a number of people who work
(17:59):
at samaritan Ins, who work forsmaritan Ins who came through Smartan Inns as
clients. We have staff, We'vehad staff on every level who have been
in recovery, and I have manypeople on my staff today who are in
recovery who come to do this workfor a number of reasons. They want
(18:22):
to give back because they know whatit was like and working at a place
like this keeps them close to theirown recovery journey. And that's just it.
It's a blessing to see and Iyou know, I would not have
I would not have been prior tocoming on board of Samaritan Ins, I
(18:47):
would not have been seeking to hiresomeone in recovery in the way that I
seek to hire someone in recovery todaybecause I have a much different understanding and
a preciation for what those individuals havecome through. That makes a lot of
sense because you needed to context justlike anybody does in that situation, and
(19:10):
understanding the situation after actually living inwith these people every day. I've talked
to other nonprofits where they've been helpedand then they come back and actually work
for the organization, and that's kindto be one of the best payoffs of
all time that somebody you help andnow they're working to help other people.
That is the ultimate in giving back. So I'm glad you shared that with
us. As we wrap up ourconversation, Lauren, I did want to
(19:30):
maybe just give the floor to you. People been educated about Samaritinians, but
what takeaway do you want to haveall our listeners know about Samaritinans and just
anything that's important or just final takeawaysthat you would like everybody to know.
A couple of success stories or acouple of things that have happened to us
(19:52):
or that we've achieved recently. Mostrecently, we achieved our car certification.
Previously, we were only required tobe certified by the Department of Behavioral Health
here in Washington, d C.But DBH made some changes and implemented some
new requirements for SUD providers, andthat was one of them, was that
(20:18):
we needed to be nationally accredited byone of the nationally accredited accreditation bodies.
We needed to be nationally accredited,and we had to have this in place
by October first of this year,and I'm very pleased and proud that we
received our coveted three year CAR accreditationat the end of July. We had
(20:48):
to demonstrate over a period of sixmonths, meeting twenty four hundred individual standards.
Wow. And then we had athree day survey survey site visit in
the middle of June, and wereceived our three year accreditation just a couple
of weeks ago. So I'm verypleased and proud of that. Samaritan Ins
(21:14):
has always been providing exemplary services tomen and women in Washington, d C.
But this just raises raises the bara bit and puts us at the
same level for national standards with otherSUD providers around the country. Well,
congratulations and that and that's by theway, there's no coincidence in Lauren's three
(21:37):
year anniversary and that happening. SoI love to hear that and all the
amazing work that you're doing in threeshort ears, Lauren. So we have
talked about so many cool things aboutSamaritan Ins, and I know a lot
of people are so wondering about website, social media channels and donations and volunteering.
What's the best way to find outall about that, Lauren? So,
the best way to find out aboutall of that is on our brand
(22:00):
new website at Samaritan Inns dot org. You can donate there, you can
find out more information about the programsand services that we offer, volunteer opportunities,
and all sorts of things. Werecently uh we recently hosted our first
(22:21):
signature fundraiser called the Zero Proof Soireeand Battle of the Mocktails to raise funds
and to raise friends and awareness aboutSamaritan Ins. We the Battle of the
Mocktails we had we invited eight mixologiststo come and compete to create the best
(22:41):
mocktail. Love that d C andLeon Harris was was our amazing MC.
It was a it was a funnight and just over two hundred people attended.
Chuck Todd from MSNBC was a specialguest at the event. He's been
a big support of Samaritan of SamaritanIns for several years and he actually started
(23:03):
out as a volunteer in our DinnerFellowship program. And we are going to
have the second annual Zero Proof soarein January. We decided to move the
event from April, which is alcoholAwareness month. We're moving it to dry
January, so the event will beon January twenty fourth, twenty twenty four
(23:26):
scanning. There's more information about thaton our website. That's great, and
let's give the website one more time. And also remember if you're interested in
a career and working with Lauren andher team, that's available to you as
well if you fit the criteria.So Lauren that website one more time.
Samaritan inns dot org, Forward slashCareers. That's Danny, Lauren. I
(23:47):
can't tell you what a pleasure itis to meet you and get to know
about Samaritan Ins and you and theLovely Angels are doing incredible work there in
the short three years that you've beenthere. Congratulations on the three year anniversary.
You put a lot of hard workand effort into it today and night
and on weekends. We're just appreciativethat you have the time to do this.
Continue success, and thank you somuch for joining us on CEOs you
(24:08):
should know. Thank you so much, Dennis. It's a pleasure. Our
community partner, M and T Banksupports CEOs you should know. Is part
of their ongoing commitment to building strongcommunities, and that starts by backing the
businesses within them. As a Bankfor communities, M and T believes in
dedicating time, talent, and resourcesto help local businesses thrive, because when
(24:30):
businesses succeed, our communities succeed.
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