Michael Knipe has lived in Washington, DC for decades, but he had never been to the Congress Heights neighborhood before he began volunteering as an associate caseworker at Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington’s office there this past spring.
Still, the retired United States Department of Agriculture attorney quickly found his work with Samaritan’s staff and Next Step program participants so enjoyable and meaningful that he signed up to serve the Ward 8 neighborhood office three days each week.
“It’s worked out fabulously,” says Michael, who serves as the right-hand Next Step team member of Doris McRoy, Samaritan’s Lead Caseworker in Southeast DC. “I really love working with Doris — I personally like her, and she’s very no-nonsense and has a sense of humor.”
A parishioner at St. Mark’s Capitol Hill, one of Michael’s first moves after retirement was to pursue a divinity degree at Wesley Theological Seminary, where the focus was on inward reflection.
But Michael was drawn to service and found out about Samaritan through a board at St. Mark’s through which he helps make grants to local service and social justice organizations. Knowing the severe financial pressure that Samaritan faces and the deep need of the people it serves, he knew that the organization would provide him with a chance to make a significant impact.
“Your empathy level grows with each person you talk to, when you see the problems that they have to deal with,” Michael says, noting that people who come to Samaritan seeking help finding work often lack even the basic prerequisite of a high school education. And then there are those who are enrolled in educational programs or are working, but need emergency assistance to continue, like a woman who recently came to Samaritan seeking help finding a place to stay so she could complete her nursing certificate program.
It’s not lost on Michael that much of the Samaritan participants’ educational disadvantages and vulnerability tie directly back to the generational poverty that they have faced since childhood.
“Oddly enough, one of the most impactful things I’ve learned was over the radio,” he says, referring to statistics showing that more than 40% of children in Ward 8 now live below the poverty line. “It’s mind-boggling — just three miles from Capitol Hill.”
Overall, the most recent data available show that 28.1% of children in DC live below the poverty line, and, due to long-standing and pervasive systemic racism, child poverty afflicts Black children disproportionately: 45.8% of Black children in DC live below the poverty line, according to the DC Fiscal Policy Institute.
“All of those participants were children once,” Michael adds, referring to those whom he assists in turning their own lives around. And indeed, in recent comments to National Public Radio on DC child poverty rates, Rachel Metz, data and research manager with DC Action, said, “Child poverty increases the risk of housing insecurity or homelessness, which can be very disruptive for children and impact their ability to focus in school, and their ability to feel stable and secure. Having those secure attachments are so important for young children.”
So, Tuesday through Thursday, Michael eagerly joins Doris in Next Step counseling and coaching sessions, applying skills he learned many years ago as a legal-aid staffer to draw out participants’ stories. And then he performs follow-up legwork, making calls and obtaining documents on the participants’ behalf.
No matter the need, Michael and Doris provide each Next Step participant with the loving, respectful, personalized, and empowering help that is the hallmark of the Next Step program. This includes helping participants set goals and map out the next steps they’ll need to take to achieve them — and assisting the participants in staying accountable to their goals. As necessary, they help identify which government agencies and outside organizations can provide more specialized help.
“His calm demeanor and genuine desire to help are very evident in how he interacts with the participants,” Doris says of Michael. “He wants to learn as much as he can and is always willing to take on more. I cannot say enough about him, but truly, I thank God for his being at Congress Heights.”
If you, too, are interested in volunteering at Samaritan, please contact Partner Council and Volunteer Manager Sy Jones at sjones@samaritanministry.org. Samaritan is currently in particular need of volunteers to welcome participants and assist with their intake as well as light office management at our Congress Heights and Arlington offices. The openings are for 10 am to 2 pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
Photos at top, from left: Michael Knipe, by Doris McRoy; a Next Step participant and Doris McRoy by Sarah Wood.