What is Samaritan?

Samaritan is a support network that helps people overcome barriers to housing. The Samaritan community has helped more than 1,000 unhoused individuals take steps towards housing across the US.

Samaritan works by partnering with organizations across the nation that are serving unhoused or housing insecure populations. Our partners can use Samaritan to incentivize steps towards health and housing goals and accelerate outcomes for their clients.

Mindy Mannarino, a Care Navigational Manger with Staten Island Performing Provider System, expressed her appreciation for the role Samaritan plays in assisting in her client caseload. “Once you get a client interested and you can get them enrolled, they are floored that a health insurance company collaboration would offer something like this. They’re usually pretty enthusiastic!” Mindy highlighted the distinct advantage Samaritan provides compared to other health programs. “It’s nice to be able to offer something like this because for some of the other programs, you’re not offering an incentive,”she explained. “You’re just kind of saying, ‘Oh, you know, you should do this and you should do that.’ So this is much better.”

When asked about the effectiveness of Samaritan’s Action Steps and Bonuses, Mindy pointed out how these elements have had a tangible impact on clients’ health management. “A lot of folks go to appointments, They try to do all the follow-ups that they need to do,” she said, noting that many of her clients deal with conditions like type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

Mindy observed that the incentive structure encourages patients in their personal goals. “It’s interesting, some people said it motivated them to actually set up these appointments, The Members found that this was like an incentive to be more on top of their own health.”

The bonuses, Mindy noted, have been particularly beneficial. “I do notice that the people who indicated, like, ‘I’m really going to use this to buy food,’ they really stick to that,” 

“They are always very thankful and grateful to Samaritan for giving them the opportunity to do this,” she said. “It helps some people feel like it’s more of a priority to take care of their health, because then maybe they can eat a little healthier because they have this extra money.”

Mindy remains optimistic about Samaritan’s ongoing impact. Her experiences illustrate how the program not only provides essential support to those in need but also inspires clients to use their Action Steps toward managing their health effectively.

More information about Samaritan can be found on their website: https://www.samaritan.city/