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The new, two-story apartments at 723 N. McDonald St. will be different than any other apartment complex in McKinney, and possibly the country as they will serve as a private residence for people who were previously homeless.
The 130 residents who will soon call the new, brick Gateway Apartments home will now have an independent place of residence. They are moving from the Samaritan Inn, the local homeless shelter, into the apartments, which will also be managed by the shelter.
The residents will only have to pay 30 percent of their total annual income for rent and they can live at the apartments for up to 18 months.
“Everything we got for the apartments was donated. It’s been really amazing. I thought this is an awesome program. McKinney is one of the most giving places I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Lynne Sipiora, the executive director of the Samaritan Inn. “They have truly made a home for people.”
The residents, of which 31 are children, are slated to move into the apartments today as the Samaritan Inn was waiting to receive its certificate of occupancy for the apartments on Wednesday. The residents could have moved in sooner, but the contractor who poured the concrete drive for the apartments mistakenly poured concrete over the manholes for the site, so the crews worked on Wednesday and Thursday to remove the concrete.
Local home builder Darling Homes, which has built numerous homes for the North Collin County Habitat for Humanity, built the apartment complex at no profit, Sipiora said. Everything in the one to two bedroom apartments, other than fixtures, large appliances or microwaves, was donated by members of service groups, churches, employees from local companies, and McKinney area residents. That includes furniture, bedding, kitchen and bath towels, toiletry items, pots and pans, silverware, electronics, grills, toys, decorative items, and lamps. Volunteers from the various groups that adopted, or sponsored, an apartment were busy hanging drapes, making beds and putting the finishing touches on the apartments on Wednesday to make sure the apartments were ready for their new residents.
Members of the McKinney Makeover Network, which includes about 20 community members, sponsored apartment 103, which is on the second floor and is a two bedroom apartment.
Lori Loftin is one of the members of the McKinney Makeover Network who is helping to make the family that will live in the apartment a new start as they transition from living in the inn to having a much larger space, paying rent, bills, re-establishing credit, and getting completely back on their feet after they graduate from the Samaritan Inn program.
Loftin said she helped sponsor the apartment because she likes helping people.
“I love to give back to the community and especially to people who are less fortunate than me. I want to help get them back on their feet and to help them get financial freedom,” Loftin said.
Tonya Knott, also a member of the McKinney Makeover Network group, said she helped to create it because she and her husband, Kevin like helping people.
“My husband and I love the show ‘Extreme Home Makeover’ and we just wanted to help the Samaritan Inn residents. It’s going to be nice and comfortable, and some people didn’t have money to give, so they gave their time,” Knott said.
The residents will get to bring all of the donated items with them when they graduate from the Samaritan Inn, when they move into their own apartment or house.
Every apartment in the Gateway Apartments has been sponsored and Sleep Experts donated all but one new mattress for the apartments. Mattress Giant donated a new mattress for one of the apartments, Sipiora said.
The Samaritan Inn will hold an official ribbon cutting ceremony from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on April 9 at the apartments, which are on the west side of McDonald Street across from the Samaritan Inn, north of US 380.
As the residents are slated to move into the apartments today, more room will be available for people to stay at the shelter. Because Collin County does not have an emergency shelter for people to stay at and because the Samaritan Inn has consistently been at capacity for the last several months, people have had to be turned away from staying at the inn on a daily basis. The shelter had to turn away 95 people who met the criteria to stay at the inn in February because of lack of space, Sipiora said.
“As the population of McKinney and the county grows, so does the homeless population. With foreclosures being at an all time high, the population is going to increase for the number of people who will need a place to stay,” Sipiora said.
She hopes that an emergency shelter is built somewhere in Collin County to assist people who need a safe place to sleep at night and a warm meal, she said.
“It doesn’t have to be managed by the Samaritan Inn. I don’t care who runs it. We need an emergency shelter that will supply sheets and eats,” Sipiora said.
McKinney Mayor Bill Whitfield and assistant city manager Rick Chaffin are planning to meet with representatives of the homelessness department of the Housing of Urban Development in Washington D.C. on April 9 and 10 to see what kind of funding or grants the city of McKinney could receive to address the growing homeless population and areas east of State Highway 5, Whitfield said.
He is also planning on discussing the issue with United States Senators (Rep.) John Cornyn and (Rep.) Kay Bailey Hutchison and US Representatives (Rep.) Sam Johnson and (Rep.) Ralph Hall, Whitfield said.
Sipiora said she hopes that Whitfield can bring back some grant money and other funds to help the homeless people in McKinney and to help improve areas along State Highway 5 that are in need of revitalization.
Contact staff writer Brandi Hart at hartb@acnpapers.com. To post comments online, access this story at www.scntx.com.
