Good Samaritan Car Care Clinic provides low income Covingtonians with free, routine basic maintenance on their car as a way to help them move toward economic self-sufficiency.
The clinic provides oil changes, replaces air filters, replaces wiper blades, replaces bulbs, top-off fluids, inflate tires and refer cars for repair.
Director Bruce Kintner has long carried out the maintenance work in borrowed garage space. On Tuesday, he’s breaking ground on what will be a permanent location at the corner of Martin Street and Madison Avenue.
The clinic started in 2007 started when Kintner was doing an oil change for Chinna Simon, pastor of Madison Avenue Christian Church, which he attends.
Simon mentioned that he frequently ran across single mothers at the church’s community dinners who were without reliable transportation, many because they couldn’t afford the maintenance that would keep their car from breaking down. He asked Kintner, who was knowledgeable and skilled in basic car maintenance, to help.
Kintner asked David Brownfield, who owns Walther Autobody on Madison Avenue, if he could borrow his shop. “Fortunately, he said ‘yes.’” Kintner said.
Then local nonprofits like the Women’s Crisis Center, Life Learning Center, Brighton Center, and Welcome House started spreading the word. Soon Kintner was doing things like hosting car maintenance clinics for Lincoln Grant Scholar House’s single parents who are matriculating as full-time college students.
“Who’d have thought that 15 years later, right?” Kintner said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kintner said the demand for the clinic’s services skyrocketed.
“The ladies who lost their jobs in the restaurant and hospitality industries due to COVID turned to DoorDash, and that meant more wear and tear on their cars,” he said.
As the clinic’s client base grew, so did its need for support. Today, the clinic’s partners include the Life Learning Center, Lincoln Grant Scholar House, Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Northern Kentucky, Brighton Center, and Gateway Community College. Its sponsors include The R.C. Durr Foundation, Inc., Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation, the Elsa Heisel Sule Foundation, Women’s Fund – Greater Cincinnati Foundation, and The Butler Foundation.
Kintner said he looks forward to Samaritan Car Care having its own designated location. Clients and former clients do as well.
