Samaritas

Samaritas Community Services Division, doing business as Lutheran Social Services Of Michigan, is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization based in Detroit, Michigan that operates as a federal grant recipient providing homeless assistance, housing stability, and refugee resettlement services to vulnerable populations. The organization acts as prime recipient on 36 awards (30% of total) and as sub-recipient on 84 awards (70%), with the vast majority of work flowing through the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Samaritas' capability portfolio centers on three core federal programs. The Continuum of Care Program (CFDA 14.267) with HUD provides permanent housing including permanent supportive housing for persons with disabilities, rapid rehousing, transitional housing, supportive services, and Homeless Management Information Systems. The organization received two prime Continuum of Care awards in June 2026 totaling $283,227 ($115,813 and $167,414) for the period June 1, 2026 through May 31, 2027, with place of performance in Detroit. The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within HHS funds Samaritas' residential services for unaccompanied children, trauma-affected refugees, and employment and integration support. A cooperative agreement for residential long-term foster care services for unaccompanied children awarded January 1, 2024 runs through December 31, 2026. A separate cooperative agreement for shelter and transitional foster care services for unaccompanied children, awarded April 1, 2023, operates through June 30, 2026 and serves up to 45 youth in a residential shelter in Grand Rapids, Michigan and up to 30 youth in foster homes in mid-Michigan, with case management and therapy services for each. A Support for Trauma-Affected Refugees (STAR) cooperative agreement from ORR, awarded September 30, 2024, funds evidence-based mental health and psychosocial support for ORR-eligible trauma-affected populations through September 29, 2026.

Customer concentration is heavily skewed toward HHS Administration for Children and Families, which accounts for 76 awards across the footprint, reflecting Samaritas' specialization in refugee resettlement and unaccompanied minor services. HUD's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development represents the second-largest customer at 30 awards, driven by recurring Continuum of Care awards. The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, the Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, and a second HHS Administration for Children and Families line item collectively account for 11 awards. Together these five customer lines represent 98% of awards.

Samaritas operates primarily as a sub-recipient on Michigan state pass-through vehicles. The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity serves as the prime grantee on the majority of Samaritas' sub-awards, funding refugee employment services, refugee health promotion, refugee transportation, refugee school impact programs, Afghan family strengthening, digital literacy and learning, independent living plus services for unaccompanied minors, and Ukrainian humanitarian parolee assistance services. The Michigan Department of Education acts as prime grantee on sub-awards for Emergency Food Assistance Program administrative support and related services. Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service Inc. serves as prime grantee on Samaritas sub-awards for reception and placement, safe release support, matching grants, preferred communities designation, and emergency refugee and migration assistance. Recent sub-awards include a $1.7 million Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Foster Care Independent Living award from Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (October 1, 2024), a $1.7 million Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Residential Jackson House award (October 1, 2024), a $500,000 Independent Living Plus award (October 1, 2024), and a $220,000 Afghan Family Strengthening Intervention award (October 1, 2024).

Activity trajectory shows growth from 2022 through 2024 — ten awards in 2022, twenty-one in 2023, and twenty-nine in 2024 — with a decline to seventeen awards in 2025 and five through September 2026. Three awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing potential recompete exposure. Combined obligated dollars across all 120 awards total $135.3 million.

Samaritas' corporate structure includes named subsidiaries: Lutheran Housing Corp of Ann Arbor, Lutheran Social Services Of Michigan (multiple registrations), and Heartline Inc., a domestic shelter operation. The organization's faith-based nonprofit status and Michigan operations base position it as a specialized provider in HUD Continuum of Care and ORR refugee and unaccompanied minor programs, with limited direct federal contracting exposure for goods or IT services.