THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, July 24, 1996              TAG: 9607240391
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY JO-ANN CLEGG, staff writer 
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   55 lines

DRIVE TO ``SAVE OUR SHELTERS'' DOES ALL THAT, AND THEN SOME

Last Valentine's Day, a grass-roots organization that provides shelters for homeless and battered families put out a call for help.

Because the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development had a surplus of repossessed homes in Hampton Roads, Samaritan House was in danger of losing the eight houses it had been renting from HUD for $1 a year.

``We needed to raise $500,000 to buy the properties outright before March 1, 1997, if we were going to stay in business,'' said Ellen Ferber, the non-profit group's executive director.

On Monday, more than seven months shy of the deadline, Ferber announced that the group had not only met, but exceeded its goals.

``We're still flabbergasted by the whole thing,'' Ferber said. ``Not only is the community behind us in saving or replacing the shelters, they're supporting our expansion, too.''

So far, $732,500 has been raised.

Of that total:

$332,500 came from private donations generated by a committee headed by volunteers Sue Haycox and Diane Angelos.

$200,000 came from the Virginia Partnership Trust through its SHARE program.

$100,000 was provided through Community Development Block Grant funds appropriated by the city's Department of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation.

$100,000 came from a federal HOME program grant.

Ferber said that more than 2,000 area businesses and individuals contributed to the ``Save Our Shelters'' drive. Private donations, ranging from less than $1 to nearly $150,000, were the backbone of the successful fund-raising activity.

``One individual gave us $142,500. That gift helped us to receive the grant from the state,'' Ferber said.

With the future assured for the group's 10 existing properties, two of which already were owned outright, the Samaritan House board plans to work on some of its long-held dreams.

``We're still turning away nine out of every 10 families that come to us for help,'' Ferber said.

To meet the needs of additional families, the group hopes to buy a small apartment house to centralize supervisory, child care and counseling services.

Samaritan House also hopes to raise more money to establish a community outreach center where it can offer support groups and classes for battered spouses who need a safe space and access to community resources but are not yet ready to leave an abusive home.

``That's the dream,'' Ferber said. For now, she wants the community to know that every penny of the $332,500 in private donations raised will go to provide shelter and transitional housing.

``The community needs to know that,'' Ferber said, ``and they also need to know what a nice job they did in helping us meet our goals.''

KEYWORDS: HOMELESS SHELTER by CNB