WPCNR MAIN STREET JOURNAL. November 23, 2004: Grace Church announced to the Journal News yesterday that they would close Samaritan House at 33 Church Street, their shelter for homeless women, which had it remained open would be a next door neighbor of the Cappelli Hotel and Condominiums at 221 Main Street. The announcment of the closure came on the same day Louis Cappelli announced a $1,000,000 gift to Grace Church.

Susan Elan's story in The Journal News today reports the Rector of Grace Church, Janet Vincent as saying the reason for the closing of Samaritan House is because Grace Church has not been able to raise enough money to keep all church programs going. Elan reports Rector Janet Vincent as saying she would not use any of the Cappelli $1,000,000 windfall  to make up the $50,000 shortfall needed to bring Samaritan House to break even. Instead, Vincent said, the money would be used to renovate the Parish House which includes, according to the article the Grace Church soup kitchen and day-care center.

Elan's article notes the Department of Social Services First Deputy Commissioner, Nancy Travers, as being surprised at the announced closure. Travers is reported saying the D.S.S. had advanced them money in the past when Samaritan House had financial problems. Commissioner Travers is reported as saying the D.S.S. was contemplating increasing the approximate $600,000 funding 5%. The Samaritan House Director is reported saying the shelter needed an 8% increase to break even or about $50,000.00.

Ms. Elan reports the fifteen women now being housed will be relocated to other shelters within the city.

This is not the first time Grace Church and the Department of Social Services have been apart on accounting.

In 2002, Grace Church was found by the Department of Social Services to be billing D.S.S. more money than they were actually charging for day care, according to  Maryfaith Fortunate, the Director of Day Care, who spoke with a reporter for WPCNR, Teresa Kramarz, at the time.

The Department of Social Services reduced their funding of the Grace Day Care fees when the D.S.S. discovered they had been making a mistake paying to Grace Church Day Care the full Title XX entitlement, which was $800 per child at the time, when Grace Church was charging parents only $600.

The daycare fee at Grace had to be raised from $600 to $800, causing some parents, who were not fully subsidized by the Department of Social Services to drop out. Grace Church was forced to pay back approximately $55,000 to the Department of Social Services, as a result of the overbilling they had charged the Department of Social Services.

As a result of Grace Day Care having to increase the monthly fee, a number of parents left Grace Church Day Care at the time.