- [Announcer] NPT Reports: Aging Matters.

(intriguing intro music) - My name is Mandy McKay, I'm the program leader at Samaritan Place.

It is an emergency and transitional housing program for seniors over the age of sixty.

(gentle piano music) (birds chirping) A place like Samaritan Place is exceptionally rare.

We are one of eight in the nation.

So we are listed as a senior facility and a homeless shelter.

(gentle piano music continues) When we first get a client, or maybe a client that has been victimized, the main thing that we see at Samaritan Place are how much that they have isolated themselves from community or from social supports.

They are only trusting their abuser.

So when they first come to Samaritan Place, they're very timid, they're very quiet, they stay in their room a lot.

- When I first arrived at Samaritan Place, I was a little scared meeting new people.

I felt like the new kid in school.

(gentle piano music continues) (residents chatting) - Over time, you see a lot of those clients that have been isolating themselves for years, really, really come out of their shell.

They'll start playing bingo.

They'll start playing cards with friends, ordering pizza with friends, and, and really starting to see a whole different side of socialization come out of them.

- [Resident] So, we got four... - As I learned to get to know the people, it's brought me companionship, it's made me laugh.

We're a family without being a named family.

We all care about each other.

- When clients come here, they have seven months around people that are going through the exact same thing that they're going through.

When they leave, we want them to be able to be a functioning member of society and not be tied down by their victimization or their past life, where they were isolated and not able to ask for help.

Hopefully, they can take that with them when they go to their new place and, and continue that growth towards friendship and, and community.

(chair dragging) Samaritan Place is located in Knoxville, Tennessee, but we see individuals from all over.

The main way to get in touch with us would be to call our main phone number.

And that is (865) 684-1880.

We do a brief telephone assessment and then we schedule for an in-person assessment and we go from there.

(gentle string music)