COVINGTON, Ky. — A northern Kentucky nonprofit dedicated to addressing transportation barriers to self-sufficiency had a grand opening for its new facility Wednesday.
The newly constructed headquarters for the Samaritan Car Care Clinic represents a dream realized for Bruce Kintner.
“From the beginning, what we tried to do is just simply offer a hand up to low-income families, a tremendous number are female-headed households, single moms, who just need help so they can keep getting to their jobs,” Kintner said. “Just having this own space is going to allow us to offer even greater support for these families in need.”
Amanda Mills was once one of those people.
“My car had broken down, and I was just like literally figuring out a way how I was going to make it, you know, to nursing school because without a car you can’t do what you need to do,” Mills said. “He got me this really nice 2007 Lincoln MKZ. It’s very precious to me because every day when I look at it, it reminds me what I’m working for. I’m a single mom of four boys and they actually motivate me every day to do better. So without the Samaritan Car Care Clinic, I would not imagine where I would be at right now.”
Kintner started the clinic 16 years ago as an all-volunteer program offering basic maintenance on a few dozen cars a year. In recent years, it’s grown to provide shared-cost vehicle repair services for low-income individuals and families.
In 2022, the clinic served 315 families at an average repair cost of $1,400 per vehicle.
“We do front multiple repairs, hoping that someone then can pay that $50 to $100 a month for a while to allow it to be paid forward to the next low-income family to need something,” Kintner said. “It literally does allow them to stay on the road. It literally allows them to continue to be on that path to financial independence. It does feel fantastic being able to offer that hand up to someone.”
But the work always had to be done at partnering shops. As the first dedicated, nonprofit vehicle repair shop in the region, Kintner said the new facility will provide more people with long-term sustainability. Mills said she’s proud of the man who changed her life.
“It gives you hope. It’s a motivation. It doesn’t matter if it’s two years from now. If you have an idea in your mind, you can make it happen. You know, it’s really mind over matter, and I really appreciate that this building is actually here,” Mills said. “He just talking about it brought it to existence, and it shows me the powers of manifestation.”
The clinic will collaborate with Gateway Community and Technical College to train new mechanics for the workforce, and will partner with St. Vincent de Paul to provide access to safe vehicles at affordable rates, while drivers build credit. Kintner said the program will continue to need financial contributions to operate.
“We fixed 67 cars in the first quarter of 2023. I had to turn away more than 20 ladies who needed help simply because I don’t have the funding. But I remain optimistic,” Kintner said. “This is not the end of a journey. This is the beginning.”
Development firm, Corporex, donated the land for the project, and the Catalytic Fund financed the building’s construction. The Samaritan Car Care Clinic still needs to receive its full certificate of occupancy from the City of Covington. Kintner said it will likely be fully operational in mid-to-late May.
