CHESTERTOWN — Kent County residents with limited financial means face losing access to emergency support that can help them stay in their homes.
According to Pastor James Diggs, who is board president and winter shelter director for The Samaritan Group of Kent County, heat waves this summer are adding to already alarming increases over the past year in the cost of living including food, gas, utility bills and rent.
“We regret that without additional funds, The Samaritan Group will be required to suspend our Emergency Housing Assistance program at the end of July,” Diggs, pastor of the Chestertown Church of the Nazarene, said in a news release sent out July 23.
Diggs said the money allocated for all of 2026 has already been distributed to families in need, just halfway through the fiscal year.
For the past 23 years The Samaritan Group has hosted the emergency overnight shelter in Chestertown churches during the winter months for neighbors who are unhoused during the coldest time of the year.
The Samaritan Group also manages the Emergency Housing Assistance program, formerly known as “Outreach,” to cover housing-related expenses that, if unpaid, would lead to the loss of stable housing already in place for families and individuals.
Partnering with the Good Neighbor Fund, a program of the Chester Valley Ministers’ Association, The Samaritan Group contributes to expenses such as rent, security deposits, utility bills and short-term stays at local motels. Applicants are referred to the two funds by the Kent County Department of Social Services after public resources have been exhausted.
According to the news release, from January to July of this year, 65 applicants received financial assistance totaling more than $22,000 for urgent housing- related needs.
The assistance is paid directly to the business, individual or organization that is owed money after it is confirmed that housing will be preserved with the payment.
Because of the increased demand, the maximum assistance has recently been reduced from $400 to $200 per applicant.
Applicants can receive assistance once in a 12-month period.
“We often think of the winter months as the most critical time for the unhoused, and The Samaritan Group does receive an increase in support during that time,” Diggs stated.
“However, this year in particular, the need to support our neighbors who have marginal housing is critical even in the summer months. The heat waves we are seeing increase both electric bills and the health risks of being unsheltered,” he said.
As the economy nationally makes it more difficult for families to pay their monthly bills, the loss of housing is one of the first crises to strike those who are at risk, according to Diggs.
During the winter of 2025-2026, The Samaritan Group and its cooperating churches — Church of the Nazarene, Christ First United Methodist Church and The Presbyterian Church of Chestertown — added one additional month of shelter services.
From December 2025 through March 2026, according to the news release, 24 different people were guests for a total of 1,273 bed nights.
The additional month of service highlighted the need for more staffing in order to maintain high-quality support to guests while balancing demands on the small paid staff, who are supplemented by many committed volunteers.
”We see significant need for additional fundraising beginning now and for the months ahead,” Diggs said.
Contributions from individual donors are essential to maintaining both the winter shelter and the year-round emergency housing assistance.
The Samaritan Group receives support from the Mid-Shore Community Foundation, The United Way of Kent County, Chestertown Rotary Club, Chestertown Elks Club, several local churches and smaller private foundations.
Tax-deductible donations can be mailed to Samaritan Group Inc. at P.O. Box 934, Chestertown, MD 21620 or online at www.samaritangroupofkentcounty.org.