(Nov. 3, 2016) There are just the two homeless shelters in Worcester County, Diakonia at the north end in West Ocean City, and Samaritan Shelter in Pocomoke City to the south, and each are supported largely through donations and government grants.
This weekend, the spotlight shifts to the south, where one Pocomoke City organization is supporting another. The Mar-Va Theater will be the venue for a fundraiser for Samaritan Shelter that will feature an opera performance by Brittany Lewis.
Tickets for the Sat. Nov. 5 performance are $15, and the show starts at 7 p.m. All proceeds go to the Samaritan Shelter.
“She’ll be performing selections from the Barber of Seville, Norma, Carmen, La Traviata and more,” Sandy Daniels, shelter director, said, “Without the support of the community, we couldn’t keep the doors open, and we really need to do all we can to help the homeless in Worcester.”
Lewis, 24, said she began singing as a small child, and has been performing during large public events for the past few years. She’s sung opera at the Mar-Va Theater before, and was the jazz band vocalist at UMES. She’s been the choir director at Salem United Methodist Church since 2012, she said, and the choir director at Holly Grove Christian School, both in her native Pocomoke.
In addition, she gives private voice lessons.
The funds, Daniels said, would help the shelter make ends meet.
“Our goal is to become a one-stop resource for people at the southern end of the county,” she said. “Lots of people think being homeless means someone is out on the street, but there are plenty of people out there couch surfing or staying with friends or family. If it’s not your home, and you’re not paying rent, you’re considered homeless.”
Because of the disparate services and features available to residents at either end of the county, getting people who are already experiencing personal difficulties to the places they need to go, or meeting the needs they need met can be trickier than it seems.
Forms need to be faxed, jobs need to be secured and travel must be arranged under perfect circumstances, and can quickly escalate a situation in the best of times. When those times are anything but perfect, challenges become obstacles.
The shelter helps, Daniels said, by acting as a one-stop center to perform those services. It also works with local businesses and landlords to help people cover their basic needs before delving into whatever other issues might be surrounding a case.
But first Samaritan Shelter offers a sense of security.
“You don’t just check out of here in the morning,” Daniels said. “As long as someone is doing what they need to do they’ll have a bed here at night.”
Which is sometimes easier said than done, because the shelter holds 24 people and, Daniels said, “as soon as someone moves out someone else moves in.”
Through other shelters, like Diakonia in Worcester and the services offered in nearby Salisbury, tenants can be placed somewhere close to home should the need arise.
“Brittany is just amazing,” Daniels said. “Even if you don’t like opera, you’re going to enjoy her performance.”
This weekend, the spotlight shifts to the south, where one Pocomoke City organization is supporting another. The Mar-Va Theater will be the venue for a fundraiser for Samaritan Shelter that will feature an opera performance by Brittany Lewis.
Tickets for the Sat. Nov. 5 performance are $15, and the show starts at 7 p.m. All proceeds go to the Samaritan Shelter.
“She’ll be performing selections from the Barber of Seville, Norma, Carmen, La Traviata and more,” Sandy Daniels, shelter director, said, “Without the support of the community, we couldn’t keep the doors open, and we really need to do all we can to help the homeless in Worcester.”
Lewis, 24, said she began singing as a small child, and has been performing during large public events for the past few years. She’s sung opera at the Mar-Va Theater before, and was the jazz band vocalist at UMES. She’s been the choir director at Salem United Methodist Church since 2012, she said, and the choir director at Holly Grove Christian School, both in her native Pocomoke.
In addition, she gives private voice lessons.
The funds, Daniels said, would help the shelter make ends meet.
“Our goal is to become a one-stop resource for people at the southern end of the county,” she said. “Lots of people think being homeless means someone is out on the street, but there are plenty of people out there couch surfing or staying with friends or family. If it’s not your home, and you’re not paying rent, you’re considered homeless.”
Because of the disparate services and features available to residents at either end of the county, getting people who are already experiencing personal difficulties to the places they need to go, or meeting the needs they need met can be trickier than it seems.
Forms need to be faxed, jobs need to be secured and travel must be arranged under perfect circumstances, and can quickly escalate a situation in the best of times. When those times are anything but perfect, challenges become obstacles.
The shelter helps, Daniels said, by acting as a one-stop center to perform those services. It also works with local businesses and landlords to help people cover their basic needs before delving into whatever other issues might be surrounding a case.
But first Samaritan Shelter offers a sense of security.
“You don’t just check out of here in the morning,” Daniels said. “As long as someone is doing what they need to do they’ll have a bed here at night.”
Which is sometimes easier said than done, because the shelter holds 24 people and, Daniels said, “as soon as someone moves out someone else moves in.”
Through other shelters, like Diakonia in Worcester and the services offered in nearby Salisbury, tenants can be placed somewhere close to home should the need arise.
“Brittany is just amazing,” Daniels said. “Even if you don’t like opera, you’re going to enjoy her performance.”