IMPACT

Meeting needs at Street Level

PARTNERSHIP BRINGS RESOURCES TO THE UNHOUSED

THE STREET LEVEL homeless outreach initiative has helped build relationships with those living on the streets since its 2019 launch in Seattle, connecting people with resources with the long-term goal of achieving housing. In 2020, The Salvation Army secured more than $1 million in grant funding from Dignity Health to expand the program to four California communities: Central Valley, San Joaquin County, San Bernardino and Central Coast (including San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties).

In those communities, caseworkers drive the Street Level van to encampments and areas where those who are unhoused live and congregate. They build rapport through consistent presence in the clearly marked van and by offering items, including food, water, hygiene supplies and socks—all made possible through generous partners. When people feel more comfortable, the team can then ask for contact information and work to connect them with services to start the process of finding long-term housing.

“One of the reasons we believe the Street Level model is so effective is because the first touch engagement is with someone who has had access to the system themselves,” said Sabrina Kiser, Western Territorial Social Services Director. “It’s about the relationship first. It’s about offering a cup of coffee or water, and just saying hello.”

ANATOMY OF A STREET LEVEL VAN

A CASEWORKER’S OFFICE ON WHEELS

Equipped with Wi-Fi, a laptop, printer and phone to allow the Street Level team to help individuals and families with paperwork, online applications and more from the field.

IN THE FIRST YEAR, Street Level teams engaged 2,229 people across the four California communities, and distributed health information to 605 people along with 21 referrals to medical assistance.

Clear labeling for awareness of who is assisting to aid in relationship and trust building

“We have been working together on efforts to address rural homelessness along with developing a collective response to COVID-19. The Salvation Army partnership seems boundless given our shared mission, vision, values and focus on serving those who are vulnerable.”

—ASHLEY BRAND

Dignity Health System Director of Community and Homeless Health

Adjustable shelf with cargo netting for storing items to meet essential needs and build relationships, like socks, nonperishable food items, water, hygiene kits and packages of cleaning wipes

Room to store a shopping cart

IN THE FIRST YEAR, Street Level teams distributed 658 clothing items and 2,556 hygiene kits. “Now that we have the new van with the big Salvation Army logo on it, they see us a block away and they’re already coming out waiting for us. They’re willing to talk to us. People know that we’re there to try to help them.”

—SEAN MEFFORD

Salvation Army Stockton Street Level Community Outreach Specialist

IN THE FIRST YEAR of implementation in the four California communities, 69 people were placed in stable housing through case management.

Space for two staff members, who build relationships with clients and community members

The Street Level program began in Seattle in 2019 and has since helped more than 400 people gain permanent housing. See how it’s recently expanded to reach more people living in cars and ride along with the outreach team at caringmagazine.org/seattlestreetlevel. See how The Salvation Army fights homelessness at caringmagazine.org/ fight-homelessness. 1

3 STREET LEVEL OUTREACH SERVICE AREAS IN CALIFORNIA

2

4 1. San Joaquin County 2. Central Valley 3. Central Coast 4. San Bernardino

Now there are six other locations that have secured support to purchase vehicles and hire staff to further the impact in California, Oregon and Arizona.

STORIES FROM THE STREET

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

“Now that we have the new van with the big Salvation Army logo on it, they see us a block away and they’re already coming out waiting for us,” said Sean Mefford, Salvation Army Stockton Street Level Community Outreach Specialist. “They’re willing to talk to us. People know that we’re there to try to help them.”

Mefford knows the barriers many people approaching the van face because he’s experienced homelessness, too. “I ran the streets when I was younger,” he said, noting he got clean through a Salvation Army program before going on to work with those who are unsheltered.

“I understand where they’re coming from because I’ve been in that lifestyle,” he said.

SAN BERNARDINO

When the Street Level van rolls up to a shaded parking area at Sylvan Park in Redlands, California, people recognize it and emerge from vehicles. Among them, a woman, who exits from the public bathroom asking, “Do you have any hygiene kits?” as she approaches the van.

Workers from the Street Level Van supply her with the hygiene kit and a package of wet wipes, as others like Erin, who lives in an RV, walk over. For Erin, who’s lived in the RV for three years, the park is home, and she works to keep both herself and the area clean because of it.

“Everyone’s got their stories of, I guess you would call it, ‘unfortunate circumstances’ that landed us this way. It just is what it is,” she said, as she received hygiene items. “But for the most part, we’re good people.” | C |

ONE STEP AT A TIME ON THE PATHWAY OF HOPE

With individual aspirations in mind, The Salvation Army is helping

families create a plan of action to stop the chronic cycle of poverty.

BY CHRISTIN THIEME

I

T’S BEEN an especially hard time to be poor in America.

A Columbia University study found the number of Americans living in poverty grew by 8 million in the second half of 2020—putting the total at 55 million people. It marked the biggest jump in a single year since the government began tracking poverty 60 years ago.

For a family of four, living “below the poverty line” means the household earns a combined $26,500 or less.

“The impact of poverty is not simply economic,” said Dr. Elaine Waxman, a senior fellow in the Income and Benefits Policy Center at the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research organization, who previously served as vice president of research and nutrition at Feeding America. “We know that individuals who live in poverty or near poverty have much more significant health issues, more likely to develop chronic health conditions, and…children who grow up in poverty are not positioned to do as well in school or to have the opportunities that would allow them to access mobility for the future.”

In fact, studies suggest children who spend at least half of their lives in poverty are 32 times as likely to be poor as adults, according to the Brookings Institution. That means a continued, intergenerational cycle of life-long poverty for the roughly 1 in 6 kids who live in poverty today—12.5 million children according to the latest data.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. With access to adequate resources, support and guidance, there is a way out.

That’s the premise of The Salvation Army’s national initiative—the Pathway of Hope—which began roughly 10 years ago to provide individualized services to families with children. By addressing immediate material needs and providing long-term engagement, it aims to stabilize families and stop the chronic cycle.

The essential ingredient? Hope.

Finding a mindset of possibility

In the social services realm, success is often measured by self-sufficiency—one’s ability to live independent of financial or material assistance.

“Those are typical definitions that exist of self-sufficiency, truly being independent from any help out there, but in a true sense, who is really self-sufficient was the question at hand,” said Dr. Philip Hong, Founding Director of the Center for Research on Self-Sufficiency (CROSS) at Loyola University Chicago in addition to his roles as a professor, Associate Dean for Research and Director of the Doctoral Program. With CROSS, he’s long been involved in studies of the Pathway of Hope. “We learned it’s a process, not an outcome…a process of moving from barriers to hope.”

“We learned it’s a process, not an outcome…a process of moving from barriers to hope.”

—DR. PHILIP HONG

“And so we moved from a mindset of just processing as efficiently as possible to saying, ‘you know what, let’s walk alongside folks and make a difference for children. Let’s really dig deeper and see what we need to do to actually make an impact.’”

—CAROL SEILER, COMMISSIONER

Hong and his colleagues found four psychological variables, or pillars, that affect a person’s self-sufficiency: psychological empowerment, having self-worth and feeling capable to achieve the goal; futuristic self-motivation, seeing the future and wanting to move forward to reach the goal; skills and resources; meeting requirements of employers and those needed to get the jobs, including training; and goal orientation, assessing if you’re on the path, standing still or moving forward toward your goal.

That psychological empowerment—hope—is what Dr. Suzanne Phillips, a licensed psychologist, psychoanalyst, and Fellow and Co-chair of Community Outreach for the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA), said provides resilience.

“It allows you to believe someone cares,” she said. “That changes the thinking so all of a sudden there’s a mindset of possibility.”

In one large, randomized trial involving 21,000 people in six countries, families experiencing extreme poverty received aid in the form of a cow, goats or bees. Dubbed “the graduation program'' as it aims to “graduate” people from poverty, the effort found substantial economic return—433 percent in India.

“It was enough magic to stir hope,” Phillips said. “When you give people the ingredients to actually have a sense of agency, meaning I can do something that could help my own poverty—and not only economic poverty, but poverty of spirit, poverty of self-esteem, poverty of a despair of not being able to feed your children—when you give someone something that gives them agency, it expands.”

When researchers reviewed the results, Phillips said, they acknowledged “it can’t just be the things we gave them. It has to be the power of hope.”

That power is both psychological and physiological, as Dr. Jerome Groopman explores in his book, “The Anatomy of Hope: How People Prevail in the Face of Illness.” When we are hopeful, we release feel-good hormones, endorphins, rather than the cortisol we would release under stress. And you build hope, Phillips said, incrementally.

“You break down the pathways that give a person agency into very small, doable steps,” Phillips said. “You know, they say the journey of a thousand miles begins with a step.”

She said to think of hope as willpower and waypower.

“If you hope that you’ll be fine, but you never take your medication, I don’t know that you’re going to be fine,” Phillips said. “It’s not magic, it’s action-oriented. The propeller about hope is believing in the possibility.”

Developing an approach to finding solutions

The Salvation Army has offered soup, soap and salvation since 1865. Just last year, the organization served more than 31 million Americans in need. (That’s almost one person every second, every day.)

While meeting immediate needs is part of the organization’s longstanding fight against hunger, homelessness, disaster, addiction and more, The Salvation Army is not only interested in filling a stomach or providing shelter for today—which goes back to a gathering of Salvation Army leaders more than a decade ago, when an advisor posed a pointed question. “You’ve served a lot of people,” he said, “but what are you doing to solve the issues?”

That question ignited what we now know as Pathway of Hope. It’s not a program, but an approach to finding solutions. “That was the meat of it—we don’t just serve people over and over again,” said Commissioner Carol Seiler, who retired in 2017 as a Salvation Army territorial leader in the central U.S. and recently helped establish the Pathway of Hope in the Northwest Division, based in Seattle. “What we needed to be doing was to see what caused them to be in those positions of asking over and over again.

“And so we moved from a mindset of just processing as efficiently as possible to saying, ‘you know what, let’s walk alongside folks and make a difference for children,” she said. “Let’s really dig deeper and see what we need to do to actually make an impact.’”

Today, the Pathway of Hope operates with a baseline set of practices to meet the needs of families with children. Case managers work with families to develop an action plan that includes personal aspirations and practical actions, and connect them to relevant Salvation Army and other community resources. The focus is on root causes rather than symptoms, especially barriers to education, employment and stability—to interrupt a family’s crisis with a targeted set of services that enables them to break the cycle and achieve sufficiency.

“It’s a holistic approach. It’s what you would do to help a friend or a neighbor, a family member—it’s an approach that permeates what we do,” Seiler said. “What case management does is take the problems, the barriers, issue by issue and start to untangle them and resolve them.”

Each family is assessed upon entry on the Self-Sufficiency Matrix, which ranks severity of barriers in 15 areas from housing to employment, childcare, mobility, and mental health and is reevaluated every three months. Services are then tailored to that family’s needs.

“Let’s say your car was impounded. That means you can’t get to work on time because you can’t drop off a child and then go across town to your job. So you lose your job,” Seiler said. “Paying the impound fee becomes an important case management approach.”

Simultaneously, families are assessed on the Herth Hope Index, a 12-item instrument designed to measure one’s sense of hope and reassessed every three months. It’s based on the definition of hope as being a “multidimensional life force characterized by a confident yet uncertain expectation of achieving a future good.”

And all the way, families are paired with a case manager who focuses on their strengths rather than their deficits—on possibilities rather than problems.

Since its creation, some 12,430 families have been enrolled in the Pathway of Hope across the U.S. Of them, 70 percent achieved increased stability. Fifty-six percent report increased hope.

“I love that there is an evidence-based approach to it, that there’s data. I love that it requires people to do some thinking and problem-solving,” Seiler said. “And THE SALVATION ARMY’S PATHWAY OF HOPE provides individualized services to families with children to address their immediate material needs and provide long-term engagement to stop the chronic cycle of poverty. It seeks to:

IDENTIFY CLIENT ASPIRATIONS AND STRENGTHS to ensure clients’ plans are authentic and sustainable.

FOCUS ON ROOT CAUSES INSTEAD OF SYMPTOMS, especially barriers to education, employment, well-being and stability that emerge at the earliest stages of a child’s and family’s development.

CREATE A HOLISTIC PLAN OF ACTION supported by relevant services, both within The Salvation Army and outside it.

ONE FAMILY'S JOURNEY ON THE PATHWAY OF HOPE

Father, mother and child

Father worked as a seasonal tax consultant. Mother was unemployed. Father suffered traumatic brain injury that left him in a coma for several weeks and in the hospital for several months, which hurt the family financially. With poor credit, they were unable to obtain housing and moved into their van. Referred to Pathway of Hope by Salvation Army emergency assistance case worker.

They set goals as a family in Pathway of Hope. Both parents were soon employed full-time.

They developed a working budget to manage their new income. The family moved into a new apartment.

Referral to partner agency helped them receive furniture and household items. A year later both parents were still employed.

Father picked up a second job.

I love that it allows the client to direct that, because my goals as a middle-class white woman may be different than someone who’s come into the community and is learning a new language. My goals may be different than somebody who’s 25 and just starting out with a baby or one of the families recently in this area, a 22-year-old living in her car who was now about four months pregnant. We took her on as a Pathway of Hope family here because the future of the child was a part of the goals of this mother.”

And it’s impacting The Salvation Army, too.

“We’re seeing a whole new engagement in our frontline staff. Our staff needed Pathway of Hope. They needed to see success for themselves as well,” Seiler said. “When you’re just pushing out food boxes or writing checks, there’s not a lot of success or satisfaction. People want to help people succeed.”

Hoping for a better life

In a rural town of less than 10,000 people just 20 miles from the Canadian border and flanked by two Native American reservations, Trina Crawford found early on in her work that the most effective approach is the preventative one. As Director of The Salvation Army Service Center in Havre, Montana, Crawford advocates for those in need and offers immediate relief where she can.

And some of these individuals she engages in the Pathway of Hope.

“We are helping about four people a year in a way that is totally, radically changing their lives,” she said. “And they’re actually giving back to the community where before they used to take away from it.”

She said many of those she works with in the area are coming out of prison or addiction.

“We work on whatever it is that’s stopping them from succeeding in whatever area,” she said. “Ultimately, we come up alongside people and surround them on the front-end with a healthier community so that they can get better.”

And she keeps them busy, engaging participants in 30 hours of activities per week, from outpatient treatment, if applicable, to meeting with a mentor, joining a church community and volunteering.

“God took me out of a really dark place…there’s a line in a song that ‘all I had to offer him was brokenness and strife, but he made something beautiful of my life’ and that is my life,” she said. “I got the help I needed through Christ and so I want those I’m helping to see that God is good, that he loves us, that we are important to him and that we are more than our decisions.”

Crawford has worked with Ronnie for the past five months, taking steps toward finding an apartment and a job.

“I was unemployed and me and my daughter had nowhere to go; we were living with family, couch to couch, whatever,” he said. “I was in treatment court because I used to drink all the time. My counselor got on the phone and got a hold of Trina.”

In Pathway of Hope, there’s always a task to be done and “I just don’t give up,” Ronnie said.

“Hope, for me, is just to do better. My life is good but

with this hope, there’s even better,” he said. “I want to find a better paying job and be a better parent to my daughter. I’m raising us.”

Through his lens in researching self-sufficiency, Hong said the connection between Crawford and Ronnie is notable.

“We were able to learn that the relational component is really critical,” he said. “What we found was this love and relational care in Pathway of Hope was helping The Salvation Army live out its mission in an era when a lot of social services is being counted by these outcomes.”

Hope is connected to one’s spiritual wellbeing, he said.

“It represents the existential meaning of why I would go toward my goal,” Hong said, offering an example: “I want to show my children that mommy can stand back up and be in charge and support our family.”

And healing, he said, happens along the way.

“It’s not just whether you have hope or not, but it’s the hope that gets cultivated through the journey,” Hong said. “It might be up and down along the way, but you’re never out of hope. You’re never lost or completely empty of hope because you’re alive. You stayed strong without giving up.”

The small steps toward one’s big goals are measured in the Pathway of Hope, and Hong said that feedback loop helps increase a person’s hope.

“It’s also contagious to people around me that my hope is no longer my hope,” he said. “It’s hope for the family. It’s hope for the community…It’s now in me and now I’m showcasing it.”

Testifying to healing and hope

The Pathway of Hope is based in Scripture—from what God requires of us, as found in Micah 6:8, to the motivation for serving suffering humanity, as found in 1 Corinthians 16:14: “Do everything in love.” That theological foundation is about joining God at the place of need and allowing him to work through us to bring his healing and hope.

And that’s exactly the testimony Lt. Katherine Reid tells.

Reid first met The Salvation Army in eighth grade, when she and her mother became residents at a shelter.

“My mom, who was struggling with drug addiction at that time, ended up losing our house. We got evicted and we had no place to go,” Reid said. “I can remember from the first time we went there it just seeming different. Everyone was very kind and loving, and everyone had chores. It seemed like you were joining in a family, which was not like any other experience I ever had.”

“Hope, for me, is just to do better. My life is good but with this hope, there’s even better. I want to find a better paying job and be a better parent to my daughter. I’m raising us.”

—RONNIE

“Sometimes when you find yourself in a rough place or when you're facing so many obstacles, you get discouraged. But you are not alone.”

—KATHERINE REID, LT.

Years later, as a mother herself, Reid again met The Salvation Army and became a participant in the Pathway of Hope.

“It was life-altering. I'd never really experienced that kind of care and support before,” Reid said, noting her case manager would offer to come to her when she had transportation issues and the corps officers would always ask to pray with her. “And I'm just sitting here like, ‘Where did these people come from?’...I think that was a huge part of my motivation of wanting to take part in being present there and volunteering, is seeing the day-to-day joy with everyone in the office…At the time, I didn't understand it, but now I know it was the presence of God.”

She went on to volunteer with The Salvation Army and attend worship services. Then on her first day as a ministry intern, she pulled up to the corps in Independence, Missouri, to meet with the shelter director.

“I remember talking with her and I was like, ‘If you don't mind me asking, can you tell me what that building is next door, because it looks familiar,’” Reid said. “She was like, ‘Well, that's our shelter,’ and she was giving me some history. But as soon as she said that, I knew.”

It was the shelter she and her mom had stayed in years ago.

“I was just overcome with emotion because I knew in that moment God brought me all the way back to where I had first started that dream,” Reid said. “It was just amazing to know that he had a plan for me from that point on, and how faithful he was in allowing me to find my way to answer that calling into ministry in every obstacle I had faced.”

This year, Reid was commissioned as a Salvation Army officer—a pastor—and now serves in full-time ministry as the Assistant Corps Officer in Bloomington, Illinois, helping others find hope, too.

“Sometimes when you find yourself in a rough place or when you're facing so many obstacles, you get discouraged. But you are not alone,” she said. “Not only do you have the support of the people in The Salvation Army behind you, and those you don't see like the donors and different members of the community who may be just making phone calls for you to get the assistance you need, but most importantly, you have God always in your corner.”

Checking in and taking action

One step at a time on the Pathway of Hope, participants report increasing hope on the Herth Hope Index, which parallels an increase on the Self Sufficiency Matrix.

“We call it hope action. It’s not action and hope separate, but the action that really comes from or stems from the hope that you have,” Hong said. “It’s rooted in the hope that’s been increasing over time in Pathway of Hope.”

And it all comes back to hope.

“It’s constantly going back to your hope as your anchor to keep moving forward with these actions, which allows you to check back in with hope to keep moving forward with your actions, adjusting your actions even, to reach the goal,” Hong said. “Empathy is where everything begins for any type of social innovation. And when you go back to hope as your anchor, that is empathy with yourself.”

While there may not be a formula for escaping poverty, Pathway of Hope is a tool for engaging families in daring to harness the hope to do so.

“Having hope means when you look at your situation, and all you see are things that you can't do, you rely on the things that God can do in and through you,” Reid said. “Having hope is believing in the things that you can't see.” | C |

Christin Thieme is Editor in Chief of Caring Magazine and host of the Do Gooders Podcast.

What is the state of poverty in America and how is The Salvation Army responding? Listen to the Do Gooders Podcast, episodes 88-94, for a season exploring the Pathway of Hope. Subscribe to the show in your podcast player or see more at caringmagazine.org/dogooderspodcast.

VOLUNTEERS STRENGTHEN THE SALVATION ARMY’S EMERGENCY/DISASTER SERVICES

What it takes to help on the worst of days

BY LOU BUHL

IRES START, storms surge and earthquakes rumble—all without warning and all impacting millions of lives each year.

And while every disaster is unique and creates its own special needs, the heart of The Salvation Army’s Emergency/Disaster Services (EDS) is to meet the immediate needs of a survivor and the emergency responders there to help.

Those coordinating the effort—from food services to emergency communication, cleanup, social services and donations management—depend on dedicated personnel to respond to the need.

“I believe we can be called to many things in life. I was definitely called to emergency management,” said Patrick McGinn, EDS Director for The Salvation Army’s Del Oro and Golden State divisions, covering much of Northern and Central California. “God's been just kind of guiding me ever since.”

McGinn, who previously worked for Americorps and FEMA aiding in disaster relief efforts, said he sees the EDS team as a ministry, not only for survivors but also

Gary Koolhof (second from right) with Auburn Canteen crew supporting Salvation Army National Doughnut Day in Auburn, California.

| PHOTO COURTESY AMY MEFFORD extending to professional partnerships, which range from local organizations to federal authorities, and the volunteers who join in.

By starting meetings with prayer, for example, McGinn said the stress of his job becomes easier to handle. And yet, as he said, “You don't have to be of any religion, or have any sort of beliefs to respond with The Salvation Army. You just have to want to help other people and to be flexible.”

It takes a certain kind of person, he said, to engage people on the worst day of their lives.

Teri Lewis is one of those people.

After seeing the devastation caused by the 2018 Carr Fire in Shasta County, California, Lewis joined The Salvation Army EDS team as a coordinator. She had just retired from a career in real estate and “wasn't quite sure” what she would do—until she saw the job posting.

Lewis began assisting those affected by the fire with early recovery efforts, an uncertain stage of disaster response when many people don't know whether or not they lost their home yet, she said. In her role, she meets with disaster evacuees to discuss their situations and how The Salvation Army can help.

“So many of them, they've never gone through a disaster in their life,” Lewis said, “But it's good to know that we're able to be there to help them.”

It’s more than physical help, she noted, even describing her work as part of the “grieving process” for those she encounters.

“I can't tell you how many times we all teared up—grown men teared up…emotional with the loss of pets, emotional with their whole life, everything they had and losing it,” Lewis said. “Everybody's so thankful and so appreciative that you are there and that you care.”

Early recovery efforts eventually transition to long-term recovery—a stage that can last from several months to as long as a community needs. By working with local, state and federal government, The Salvation Army helps form a long-term disaster recovery plan that reaches beyond basic needs to help survivors rebuild their lives. Lewis said she has helped secure funding to install power-poles after electrical damage caused widespread outages, get assistance fixing septic systems and clean water access, and tackle property damage.

Along the way, EDS teams depend on volunteers.

Those interested in volunteering take the first step by creating an online profile through The Salvation Army’s volunteer portal, volunteer.usawest.org. Next, volunteers are connected with their local Salvation Army officers.

Before deployment on EDS sites, volunteers complete an intro to EDS training course, followed by a canteen, or mobile feeding unit, operations course. Immediately following training, volunteers go out and apply what they’ve learned on disaster sites.

Canteen volunteers help to provide immediate food and hydration to the people who need

You don't have to be of any religion, or have any sort of beliefs to respond with The Salvation Army. You just have to want to help other people and to be flexible.

—PATRICK McGINN

it most. Volunteers help prepare, cook and serve food to those most affected by a disaster and the emergency responders there to help.

“One officer stepped ahead and thanked us. And I go, ‘that's not necessary...I'm here to serve, not to be recognized,’” said Gary Koolhof, EDS volunteer and canteen lead, recounting an experience from the Paradise fires. “We leave lasting memories for what we do.”

Koolhof began volunteering with his local Salvation Army EDS team five years ago when he entered retirement.

“I had to fill in my time,” he said. “So I went out and really enjoyed serving and helping other people in times of need.”

According to a February 2021 survey by the National Institute for Retirement Security, nearly one-third of American workers said the COVID-19 pandemic prompted them to rethink retirement, with some opting to retire earlier. With more time on hand, the newly retired are looking for opportunities to do good and volunteering is a popular option.

As a canteen lead, Koolhof said he’s constantly trying to keep his team alert while thinking of alternatives in case any problems occur on site.

“I can't afford to burn food because now I have to start over, right? And all these people are counting on it,” he said, noting operations run smoothly when a team works together and everyone feels they are valued and can contribute.

Koolhof also helps recruit new EDS volunteers—which is critical as EDS teams are almost entirely made up of volunteers. “Those connections can make the world of a difference,” he said.

The Salvation Army aims to be prepared to arrive at any disaster site and stay until they are no longer needed. From March 2020 to September 2021, Salvation Army employees, officers and volunteers in the Western Territory served a combined nearly 1.2 million EDS volunteer hours.

In that 18-month period, The Salvation Army EDS teams delivered some 2.6 million hot and cold meals, more than 650,000 food boxes, plus millions of beverages and snacks. Overall, more than 10 million items were distributed, worth more than $81 million.

Across the West, EDS teams also helped provide rental and mortgage assistance as well as emergency lodging for evacuees.

Koolhof said at first it was the excitement of disaster work that kept him coming back. “No two rollouts are the same,” he said. Volunteers may not know where they’re going or what might be there when they arrive.

Every step of the way, The Salvation Army offers emotional and spiritual care upon request to survivors and emergency responders. It’s this “ministry of presence” The Salvation Army considers one of its highest honors.

“We just listen to them, just to hear their stories. And sometimes you just need to open up, and we'll pray for them,” Koolhof said. “And to me, it's a tremendous blessing to be able to be part of that.” | C |

Lou Buhl is an Editor for Caring Magazine. See how The Salvation Army fights disaster at caringmagazine.org/ fight-disaster.

The workshops can help you to identify your emotions around a particular personal experience. This can be the first step to healing.

—MARTHA ACKERMAN

Getting to the heart through art

Restorative art brings healing

BY HILLARY JACKSON

ike anyone, Heather Brown* had areas of her life that needed attention. But instead of chipping away at the emotions and circumstances at hand, her alcoholism would often win out.

“As an alcoholic, I have covered up a lot of feelings that are there,” she said. “Sometimes not even knowing what I feel.”

Brown is working to identify her emotions and heal at The Salvation Army’s Denver Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) in Arvada, Colorado, in part through a restorative art program called Create: New Beginnings, which exists to empower women to “acknowledge important emotions and develop self-awareness through the lens of artistic expression.”

The program is available to the ARC through a partnership with Prison Fellowship, a nonprofit that serves those impacted by incarceration. The partnership began in California in 2020 by streamlining the way for those who have been enrolled in

LPrison Fellowship’s in-prison programming to apply to the ARC program. For many in incarceration, addiction is the first cause of their criminal history, and re-entering society through the ARC continues the work they began in prison. Create: New Beginnings is another tool to aid in the healing process. While sessions have been held in prisons across the U.S., the programming is flexible and lends itself to helping women in The Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Centers across the West. “Art can help those who are struggling,” said Steph Segel, Create: New Beginnings Manager. “Opportunities to reflect and to create something beautiful allow them to bring those things to light.” The idea for the restorative art program came after Segel went to Rikers Island in New York to tell relatable stories of those who were incarcerated. While she was there, she led some art exercises and activities with the men. When they finished, a corrections professional comment-

ed on the change in mood—the men were calm.

It was clear there was potential for more, Segel said, and Prison Fellowship CEO James Ackerman saw the unique opportunity for developing a women’s program, since a majority of prison programming is geared toward men, leaving gaps.

“Women have different struggles and different realities than the men, especially in terms of abuse,” Segel said. “A lot of women have been abused. A lot of women have kids.”

The National Resource Center on Justice Involved Women (NRCJIW) found women who have been incarcerated are more likely to have experienced sexual abuse, and a 2017 special report from the U.S. Department of Justice found 69 percent of female inmates in state prison met the DSM-IV criteria for drug dependence or abuse. This “may be motivated by a desire to cope or mask unpleasant emotions stemming from traumatic experiences and ensuing mental health problems,” according to NRCJIW.

As a result, Segel and fellow Create: New Beginnings Manager Martha Ackerman developed the program as a way to help women unpack their hurts and struggles. As artists, they know the power of creative expression.

Each week, sessions cover topics like forgiveness, reconciliation, empathy, shame, self doubt and courage, using discussion, Scripture, prayer and art to aid in the healing process.

“The topics, such as shame and self doubt, allow you to explore gently through art,” said Ackerman. “The workshops can help you to identify your emotions around a particular personal experience. This can be the first step to healing. If you can discuss these emotions either verbally or through an art form, it can help continue the healing process.”

The emotional processing the art provides has led the Denver ARC to use it in place of its usual process groups.

“It’s been really good. I think the ladies have enjoyed it,” said Major Rachel Gallop, Denver ARC Administrator for Program. “One lady said that she’s always had a hard time expressing her emotions, but

she has always liked art, so it’s been a very good thing for her…One lady doesn’t really talk a lot, but through her facial expressions you can see something happening in her.”

Sessions start off with a group discussion question, like: Do you find it difficult to forgive others? After discussing how difficult it can be to forgive, women then learned more about forgiveness—how it can protect their hearts and help them to use their thoughts in more productive and healthy ways. They talked about forgiving those who hurt them and seeking forgiveness from those who they may have hurt before writing a letter to someone who they would either like to forgive or receive forgiveness from.

The women were then instructed to rip up their letters and glue them to a separate sheet of paper before painting over it, using colors that matched their feelings. A color chart aided in this process, explaining that colors like red connote energy, anger or love whereas blue can mean calm, peaceful or sadness.

“I have to practice forgiveness with certain brokenness every day,” Brown said, noting the impact of writing the letter, naming and pairing the emotions with a color and tearing it up. “It was very freeing and it reminds me every day what forgiveness can do for my heart.”

The Create: New Beginnings team trains volunteer leaders to run the weekly sessions at the ARC. The programming encourages vulnerability from all parties— leaders included. One of the volunteer leaders at the Denver ARC is going through a divorce, and the lessons on topics like forgiveness have helped her, too.

Gallop said the leader told the group, “There has to be a way that I can forgive my husband …there’s too much hurt between my husband and I right now. There’s not going to be reconciliation for us, but there’s going to be a way to raise our children without anger and hatred.”

“It makes the ladies realize that everyone has problems; they’re not special in having problems. Even the leaders have problems,” Gallop said.

Another aspect of the programming is the weekly flowers that harken back to Victorian times, when flowers carried special meanings. For the forgiveness message, the week’s flowers included alstroemeria, representing devotion between family members or friends; purple hyacinth, representing forgiveness and strength; and pink carnations which meant “I will never forget you.”

The blooms stay around the ARC following the session to bring beauty and reinforce the week’s lesson.

For Janielle Drake*, simply talking about her feelings with another individual or putting the pen to paper never fully conveyed what she felt.

“It always seemed like I could never fully explain in detail exactly how or what I wanted to say or do,” she said. “It seemed like every group came at just the right moment for me and has helped me express exactly what I needed to at the time. It has helped me realize where I have come from, where I am at right now and where I want to and will be in the future.”

She’s looking forward to reestablishing and mending some of her broken relationships.

“I want to gear my future towards helping others that may suffer from the same disease.” | C |

It was very freeing and it reminds me every day what forgiveness can do for my heart.

—HEATHER BROWN

Hillary Jackson is Managing Editor at Caring Magazine.

*Name changed for privacy

See how The Salvation Army fights addiction at caringmagazine.org/fight-addiction.

A SHIFTING RESPONSE TO SALVATION ARMY SUMMER CAMP

BY CHRISTIN THIEME

PHOTOS BY JOHN DOCTER Camper Ian shows off his t-shirt before adding tie-dye during the 2021 traveling camp experience in Bellflower, California.

MARTY BROWN received just the email he needed in early 2021.

As the California South Divisional Camp Director, he said 2020 was a tough year.

“It was the first summer since 1939 that we didn’t have campers at camp—and to have camp sit empty? It was just so sad,” he said about The Salvation Army’s camp locations in Calabasas and Big Bear, California.

The email sender had attended Camp Gilmore in the late 1970s, and after watching a show that reminded her of camp, she’d searched to see whether or not it still existed.

The Salvation Army had visited her Los Angeles school and talked about camp when she was 10; she begged her aunt to let her go and attended camp the next three summers.

“I met the Lord there. I learned to swim there…I felt welcomed and at home,” she wrote. “I gained a lot of confidence and stopped fearing being around folks who didn’t look like me at Camp Gilmore.”

She’s now a school principal and wanted to sponsor a child at camp, just as she had been some 40 years ago.

These are the stories Salvation Army camp leaders live to hear—and the ones they worry about missing entirely in the midst of a global pandemic.

Western Territorial statistics recorded roughly 3,710 firsttime youth seekers—those who committed their life to Christ—in 2021, up from the 2,020 individuals in 2020 but still down 56 percent from 2019.

“We attribute that huge decrease in 2020 to camps being closed,” said Territorial Commander Commissioner Douglas Riley, who spent 12 summers on staff at camp. “Everybody remembers their time at camp. How many are missing out on those moments that last a lifetime? On the opportunity to share God’s love, but also to receive it?”

And while it may not have looked like a traditional Salvation Army summer in many places, camp returned across the West in 2021.

“It’s painful to go a second summer of nontraditional camp, but circumstances have opened our eyes to a new way of presenting camps in creative ways that we haven’t done before and that could last long beyond this summer,” said Jim Sparks, Territorial Director for Youth Ministries. “We have a model that’s worked, but now this hardship is allow-

Camp staffer Sophia Romero (center) leads the sports elective. Here, she shows camper Luis (right) a few volleyball tips.

Campers Ariel, Matthew and Angel (left to right) concentrate on their tie-dye camp T-shirts during the afternoon group activity.

ing camps to see the properties in a different way, to see the program in a different way and work through innovative ideas for the summer that will change our camps for the better.”

So, what did summer camp look like in 2021—and how might it shape the summers to come?

That was the question posed to a taskforce of 13 representatives from across the territory—including Brown and Sparks—that developed options and guidelines to mitigate COVID-19 risks while still providing camp ministry.

The West’s 12 camps had options this summer: residential camp, contingent on state and local guidance; day camp; family camp; virtual camp; and traveling camp— taking the heart and essence of camp to communities.

“For many kids, camp is the first time away from their parents; they learn they can handle stuff. They learn to have fun and, for many kids coming from tough situations, to just be a kid,” Brown said. “They learn new things—to make a lanyard or design a stage. They learn to eat well. And most importantly, they learn that God loves them and they experience love from so many people who are here specifically to care for them.”

This year, for the first time, Brown’s camp staff took as much as they could about the camp experience to 13 communities across Southern California, from San Luis Obispo to San Diego. A team of six camp staffers ran a one-week day camp at these Salvation Army corps— bringing camp fun and food with them.

“The goal is to make it feel like camp. To make s’mores, because that’s what you do at camp. To create a swimming day with water slides. To bring in nature with an animal farm or rock walls in place of the high ropes course,” Brown said. “We’re doing all we can to bring the essence of camp with us.”

Camp facilities also welcomed families for a weekend experience with food, activities from archery to swimming, and children’s programming provided by camp staff.

“As so many corps haven’t been able to meet in person over this past year, why can’t camp be a catalyst for reconnection?” Brown said of the idea behind offering family camp. “We’ve had to change our thinking and see our options on how to maximize ministry with the opportunities we do have.”

The Intermountain Division is one of three divisions in the West—joining Alaska and Hawaii and Pacific Islands—that hosted scaled-back residential camps.

“We’re operating at about a third of our capacity with 60 kids per session, limiting cabin sizes to six to eight campers per cabin for eight weeks of camp,” said Mitchell McWilliams, Assistant Camp Director at High Peak Camp and Conference Center in Estes Park, Colorado.

All campers were from the Denver metro area, within a roughly four-hour drive from camp. Regular wellness checks, hand sanitizing stations and even changing to a new mask three times a day were part of the new camp schedule.

“The kids were grateful to be at camp, and we were able to do a few new things like take the younger campers into the Rocky Mountain National Park for hikes,” McWilliams said. “We had drastically fewer campers than normal, at only about 30 per camp on average. While that changed the camp vibe, it also allowed campers to get to know each other better.”

A camping program in Grand Junction allowed for white water rafting through Dinosaur National Monument and time exploring Goblin’s Valley State Park. Staff then hit the road to visit seven corps in Montana, Wyoming and Colorado for one-day camp sessions. They set up inflatables, archery—even cotton candy—and McWilliams said “the corps loved it so much they are asking for this to become a staple of camp programming.”

While closed to summer camp in 2020, the West’s camps found creative uses for the facilities, hosting beneficiaries of Adult Rehabilitation Centers for service and recreation, for example. And some offered virtual camp programming featuring past camp staff.

Last summer, Brown said they again offered a virtual camp option, but one that was interactive.

“We wanted to do something last year when everything shut down so we held some virtual campfire meetings, but last year kids signed up for electives that we taught—cooking, computer coding, drums, arts and crafts—and instead of watching someone talk about it on Zoom, we sent them the materials and connected live over four weeks to engage in that activity together.”

While Brown said a “normal” summer will see roughly 3,000 campers come through the gates of The Salvation Army camps in Southern California, the 2021 summer met roughly 1,000 kids with the revised camp offerings.

“We couldn’t do what we would normally want to do and what is normally considered successful for Salvation Army camping, however, we could at least provide some type of ministry opportunity and kind of have that camp feel,” he said. “It feels good to actually do ministry and programs again.

“My experiences as a camper still impact me today,” Brown said. “I know camp impacts lives; I know that’s true. But you don’t always get to see that impact until someone writes you a letter.” | C |

While some campers choose to participate in arts and crafts or sports during their elective time, these aspiring musicians hold their drumsticks at the ready for their musical drumming instruction.

Christin Thieme is Editor in Chief of Caring Magazine and host of the Do Gooders Podcast.

Listen in to the Do Gooders Podcast as Mechale Mency shares what she remembers of her time at camp some 40 years ago and how that experience shapes the experience she aims to create today as a school principal. She's out to make sure kids feel seen and valued, and learn to value others—just as she did at camp. Find it at caringmagazine.org/ dogooderspodcast.

GIVING BACK

reasons why our partners support us

YES, THE SALVATION ARMY DOES A LOT. AND NOTABLY, WE DON’T DO IT ALONE.

Thanks to generous donors and a long list of corporate partners, The Salvation Army is dedicated to Doing the Most Good.

Since 1865, we have been working to provide sustainable solutions for the most vulnerable. We stay not just until the job is done, but long afterward to ensure that the healing continues. With 82 cents of every dollar dedicated to directly supporting the needs of the community in which it was given, The Salvation Army is committed to stewarding every donation with integrity.

In fact, it’s because of people like you that The Salvation Army can serve more than 31 million Americans in need each year. (That’s almost one person every second, every day.)

Your gift helps The Salvation Army Fight for Good all year in your community. Meet a few of those who’ve partnered with us to give the world a lasting display of the love behind our beliefs.

meet some of our partners

RALPH OSHIRO

SCH0LARSHIP AND ENDOWMENT DONOR

Ralph Oshiro credits The Salvation Army Camp Homelani, on the North Shore of Oahu, with transforming his life. As a teen, Oshiro didn’t take school or life seriously. He said he spent many days “just cruising around, playing around,” instead of attending classes. Eventually, he dropped out. His band teacher must have sensed something in Oshiro, because he gave him a scholarship to attend Camp Homelani. “It was a special place,” Oshiro said. “It gave me a new outlook on life. For me it was totally life-changing, from an aimless youth to one who had an important goal to fulfill.” The experience inspired him to get his GED. He went to college and became a music instructor.

He first gave $10 to The Salvation Army in 1995 and has made 32 gifts in the years since. Oshiro said the person who influenced him the most at band camp was the late Harry Stillwell, well known in The Salvation Army for his trumpet expertise and his Christian witness. Oshiro asked Stillwell if he could sponsor camp scholarships under Stillwell’s name.

Today, Oshiro’s gifts allow youth—those whose families might not otherwise be able to afford it—to attend camp each year.

He expressed gratitude for the life he’s led since that first camp experience.

“It is all because of God’s amazing grace, and it started here at Camp Homelani,” he said. “There’s something for every camper that comes— something that will ignite a spark in them. They’ll change their lives.”

For me it was totally life-changing, from an aimless youth to one who had an important goal to fulfill.

—RALPH OSHIRO

I've never met a group of such selfless people who are working to help others.—DIANE MULLIN

DIANE AND JOHN MULLIN

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN NAMING AND BEQUEST DONORS

When Diane and John Mullin first began bellringing for The Salvation Army in 1993, they couldn’t have imagined where they’d end up today. With their recent, sizable gift to the Army’s Hope Center project in Pasadena, California, they’ve become more than just generous philanthropists; their names will now forever be associated with the possibility of hope and opportunity for generations to come.

With a population of just over 141,000, Pasadena has one of the highest income inequality values in the Greater Los Angeles Area with an estimated 22,000 residents living in poverty.

One evening several months ago, they were confronted with the crisis head-on. After a visit to Keck Hospital, they walked down nearby Huntington Drive and noticed an even larger than usual tent encampment with a total of 47 tents altogether—and many of them with toys inside.

“We decided that very night to put everything into one charity where it could do the most good,” Diane Mullin said. “Right now, we do have an extreme homeless problem in the City of Los Angeles, in Pasadena, everywhere. And with this COVID situation, it’s even larger. It’s really tough.”

The 52,000 square-foot center—the Diane and John Mullin Hope Center—will support many of those low-income families and veterans in the Greater Pasadena community who have found themselves struggling due to the pandemic. It will be a destination for Pasadena children, families, seniors and veterans to receive the compassionate care they need and deserve—including 65 affordable permanent supportive housing units on the three floors above the social services center. Residents will be asked to contribute 30 percent of their income toward rent and will be provided with ongoing supportive services throughout their tenancy.

The Salvation Army broke ground on the project in October 2021, intending it to be a “‘one-stop-shop’ center of hope” for the community. The centerpiece of the new four-story facility will be the converted client choice pantry, which will allow clients to select their own food and will help accommodate seniors and those with dietary restrictions.

Mullin, a chef and baker by trade, knows firsthand how important a good meal can be during challenging times.

“I come from a Latin background,” she said. “My family was from Spain, my grandmother was from Mexico City, and my grandfather was from Germany, so I grew up in a big family where my grandmother and my parents were always making something and getting it to people who needed it.”

When she started her bustling bakery business from home as she coped with debilitating rheumatoid arthritis symptoms years ago, she thought of learning to cook and bake as a survival skill—and aimed to share it with others by hiring and mentoring those who needed a fresh start. While John grew his lumber and development business, she taught chef training classes at night at LA Trade Technical College. Eventually, they opened a bakery plant in Glendale and served major customers, such as Trader Joe’s.

Likewise, when the Hope Center opens in 2022, Mullin hopes to be able to be on-site to help facilitate some of the cooking classes for the new residents. Mullin said she’s hopeful that others in Los Angeles

I think everyone knows also that The Salvation Army does not turn anyone away.—WALLY TSUHA

and elsewhere might be inspired by The Salvation Army’s holistic approach to solving the homelessness crisis—and might especially be moved to help support children in need. The Mullins want others to receive the same blessing they have from supporting The Salvation Army and often encourage their neighbors and friends to give and volunteer at their local The Salvation Army.

“I’ve never met a group of such selfless people who are working to help others,” she said. “The Army’s goal is to take people in and rehabilitate them so they can have a life and be able to take care of themselves. And that’s something that’s really important to me.”

WALLY TSUHA

CRYPTOCURRENCY DONOR

In the midst of unprecedented need and fundraising challenges, The Salvation Army turned to cryptocurrency, launching its first-ever crypto kettle in the Western U.S. in December 2020 that allows donors to donate cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum directly to The Salvation Army. The transactions are as easy as making an online credit card transaction, and come with a receipt and, perhaps most importantly, tax benefits.

And it didn’t take long to hear the digital coin clang as Wally Tsuha became the first to donate two Bitcoin—valued at more than $46,000—in Honolulu Dec. 23, 2020.

Tsuha grew up with seven siblings in Kalihi and remembers “when The Salvation Army brought the baskets of food and some clothing and some toys,” he told Hawaii News Now at the time of his gift. Now, after a successful career as an executive in the automotive electronics industry and starting his own corporation, Tsuha urged others to give cryptocurrency, too.

“It is a great cause and they need the money,” he told the publication. “I think everyone knows also that The Salvation Army does not turn anyone away.”

By adding an option to donate cryptocurrency, The Salvation Army joins a small section of nonprofits that accept this form of donation. Only about 2 percent of charities in North America, Europe and Australia accept this form of donation, according to Nonprofit Tech for Good’s 2019 Global NGO Technology Report.

The Salvation Army in the Western U.S. partnered with Engiven, a service that works with nonprofits to securely accept and liquidate cryptocurrency donations.

By donating cryptocurrency directly to The Salvation Army, donors, when advised by a tax professional, can reap the tax benefits of not paying a capital gains tax that typically comes with cashing out cryptocurrency, along with getting a tax write-off for the amount donated.

DAN GERMOND

REAL ESTATE DONOR

Dan Germond has been a friend to The Salvation Army for many years, offering both financial support that goes back to his first gift in 1992 and volunteering his time through service on the Glendale (Arizona) Advisory Board.

He established a Charitable Remainder Trust in excess of $100,000 in 2018, funded with a gift of his office building. As a result, Germond will receive an income during his lifetime. He later set up a Retained Life Estate in excess of $400,000 with a gift of his personal home, retaining the right to live in it for the rest of his life.

“My [late] wife, Lynda Lee (Barrett) Germond, had a special place in her heart for the work of The Salvation Army and reminded me to keep up the good work and continue supporting the Army,” Germond said.

The Germonds' love of philanthropy and desire to improve their communities were nurtured at home during their formative years. Both the Barrett and Germond families were business and community leaders who demon-

It was so refreshing how honest, earnest, humble and effective the organization was.—ANGLELA KRABLIN

strated faith and were active in their respective churches.

Eventually, Germond founded an organization called Revere America, dedicated to honoring the memories of their parents and his wife. Revere America has also supported The Salvation Army and other charitable organizations. Love of country, faith in God and the honoring of marriage are the hallmarks of Revere America and Germond’s philosophy.

ANGELA KRABLIN

VOLUNTEER AND CASH DONOR

Angela Krablin spends her days as Senior VP of Bank Operations at Montecito Bank in Santa Barbara, California. In her spare time, she serves as a volunteer member of The Salvation Army Santa Barbara Advisory Board, supporting the local work as board chairperson for the past 11 years. She also enjoys making donations to the organization.

She first met the Army while looking for assistance for a family member in addiction and discovered a Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) nearby. Every year, The Salvation Army equips more than 150,000 people across the U.S. to combat addiction, regain health and stability, build work and social skills and restore families in more than 130 residential treatment facilities.

“I was so impressed with the program that I joined the ARC board and started donating to the program,” Krablin said. “Once I became familiar with the organization, I was impressed with the fiscal responsibility and the dedication to the work they were doing. I felt the difference immediately, having been involved in so many local and national organizations.

A recipient of the Paul Harris Fellow Award from the Rotary Club, Krablin found The Salvation Army team experienced.

“It was so refreshing how honest, earnest, humble and effective the organization was,” she said. “They struck me as the real deal—doing the right things, the right way, for the right reasons. I also liked that The Salvation Army is a Christian organization as that fits with my own beliefs. The more I got involved I knew that they were trustworthy and good.”

Now she often talks about The Salvation Army

“I am proud to be affiliated with this organization,” she said. “The Army is a well-respected, legitimate organization and my involvement is part of my identity.

What does she tell potential donors?

“Your dollars are safe with The Salvation Army, and you will always know how they use your donations,” she said. “A donation to The Salvation Army contributes to the longevity of an organization that knows what they are doing, how to do it, and who do it well. Nothing is more important to me.”

JENNY EDWARDS

MONTHLY CASH DONOR

Monthly giver Jenny Edwards has a passion for doing good. As an educator, she has helped both children and adults reach their potential. Currently, she mentors doctoral students at Fielding Graduate University. As a therapist and life coach she has assisted clients worldwide in healing from trauma and releasing negative thought patterns. Her driving force aligns with The Salvation Army’s mission to help others, and her cash donations support the Army’s promise of “Doing the Most Good.”

Edwards’ connection with The Salvation Army began with her late husband, Bo Edwards, an attorney who could trace his ancestry back to William Booth. Inspired by this connection with The Salvation Army’s founder, he and his wife began supporting the Army’s efforts to help others through regular cash donations. They gave their first gift to the Army in 1987; to date; they have given 163

This is an organization that you can trust. I'm happy that I can feel confident about what they're doing.—SUSAN HOEHN

gifts. Today, Edwards continues the tradition of giving to support the Army’s mission.

“I continue to honor Bo by giving to the organizations to which he donated...Those in my husband’s family were always strong Christians, kind and loving, who served the Lord and did good in the community,” Edwards said.

Edwards is currently writing two books: one on how parents can use language to instill a positive self-image in their children, and the other on how people first came to know Christ and how they live the Christian life. She feels confident giving to The Salvation Army, knowing the money will support those who most need it.

BILL AND SUSAN HOEHN

CREATIVE DONORS

Bill and Susan Hoehn of Hoehn Motors in Carlsbad, California, are long-time volunteers, fundraisers and donors to The Salvation Army.

As successful business owners with seven dealerships across Carlsbad, the Hoehns have given The Salvation Army several vehicles over the years—yet their support goes far beyond.

Susan Hoehn recalled their first time volunteering with The Salvation Army at a Christmas toy distribution when their three children were young. “It was just this fabulous feeling of being able to give to people personally,” she said.

Bill Hoehn said early on he became aware of The Salvation Army’s ministry and was impressed with its “wholehearted dedication” to the faith.

He said The Salvation Army stood out among other organizations for its appeal to, and admiration from, non-Christians while still maintaining a commitment to spreading the Gospel in Jesus’ name without discrimination.

The Salvation Army’s Door of Hope in San Diego, California, holds a special place in the Hoehns’ hearts. After Bill Hoehn’s mother, Betty Jo Hoehn, died in the 1990s, the family donated a playground to the residence facility in her honor.

Door of Hope consists of shelters for families and women with children experiencing homelessness as well as programming aimed to help secure permanent housing and heal from domestic abuse.

The couple later gave a new Honda Odyssey, dubbed “The Van of Hope,” in 2020.

For many residents of the transitional and interim housing units, transportation is a barrier to everyday life. The donated van helps to transport residents to get groceries, medical supplies, and eventually to transport them to apartments in order to meet landlords and apply for residence.

“I really like what they do and how they do it,” Susan Hoehn said.

While the Hoehns support a number of Christain organizations, both nationally and internationally—over the last few years, the Hoehns said they have become more committed to The Salvation Army’s mission and work.

Bill Hoehn said he appreciates the Army’s ability to “operate in integrity” while abstaining from “scandal or financial impropriety.” Susan Hoehn added,“This is an organization that you can trust. I'm really happy that I can feel confident about what they're doing.”

She stays involved through her position on the strategic planning committee for The Salvation Army’s Rady Residence in downtown San Diego. “We know the people and we are in the trenches with them,” she said. “Genuine people that work there with very honest and sincere and successful programs.

“We're investing in people's lives in the best way,” Susan Hoehn said. “For them to have a new beginning and a better life with Christian influences...That's just all the reward I need.”

ANNE AND JOHN DRAPER

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN DONORS

MIKE MILLS

FAMILY FOUNDATION DONOR

Anne and John Draper knew about The Salvation Army—they had given to the organization over the years— but they didn’t fully know all the Army did in the metro Denver area until they attended a brunch with neighbors some four years ago. The chairperson for the local advisory board was there, and shared how he was involved with The Salvation Army, why and all the good it was doing.

“That’s when we first learned The Salvation Army is more than ringing bells at Christmas and a shelter for people downtown,” Anne Draper said. They later toured Army programs in the Denver area and learned more about the breadth of Salvation Army assistance to more than 30 million Americans a year.

“We give to various nonprofit organizations across the country, but we realized The Salvation Army does a lot for people where we live and that was important,” Draper said. “We wanted to give to help closer to home, too.”

And they have, including pledging support with a $100,000 gift to the Army’s capital campaign for a new family housing center, corps and headquarters in the Denver Metro area.

“The more we’ve learned about The Salvation Army, the more we appreciate,” Draper said. “We like that The Salvation Army works with a lot of other nonprofits. We feel like money we give is not wasted; it’s being spent wisely in working with others.”

As they became more involved, John Draper asked Army leadership why they “don’t toot their horn” more often and volunteered to help tell others about all the good the organization does.

“The Army really does the most good,” he said. “We believe that.”

So the Drapers decided to hold their own social gathering in September 2021 and invited 30 neighbors and friends to their home in Littleton, Colorado, to hear more about The Salvation Army’s current work and needs.

One of those friends, Mike Mills, said he was moved when he learned how The Salvation Army supports youth in Denver. For nearly 30 years, Mills has been involved with Metro Denver Crime Stoppers, serving as its board president for the last 16 years, and in 2020, established the Clay Connections Foundation to break biases between underserved youth and law enforcement through outdoor activity. He saw an opportunity for a natural partnership with The Salvation Army.

Mills later toured the Denver Red Shield, attended a Camp Donor Day and invited Salvation Army leadership to visit the grounds of his foundation.

“It’s nice to really find out—instead of just giving money—to know how the money is being spent,” he said. “To know the people running the programs and see how passionate they are about their mission.”

Mills funded a $50,000 grant from his family foundation, the Ronald and Carol Moore Family Foundation, to support Salvation Army youth programs in Denver.

“Without good people dedicating their lives to serving none of this is possible,” he said. “I’m only one piece of it—I’ve been fortunate and now it’s my opportunity and good fortune to give back.”

And now, like the Drapers, Mills tells others about the wide array of Salvation Army services, too.

“We do not give for any type of recognition; that’s not who we are,” said Anne Draper. “When you see the good that happens you just feel better—maybe we’ve made a little bit of difference.” | C |

You’ve probably seen the red kettles and thrift stores, and while we’re rightfully well known for both…The Salvation Army is so much more than red kettles and thrift stores. So who are we? What do we do? Where? Pull up a seat for Salvation Army 101 at caringmagazine.org/ the-salvation-army-101.

HOW CAN YOU PARTNER WITH THE SALVATION ARMY?

You can join donors like these in the Fight for Good and make an impact with The Salvation Army. Consider how you could give using this gift planning guide:

OUTRIGHT GIFTS

CASH Write a check or use a credit card. Easy to make; qualifies for an income tax charitable deduction for full amount of gift.

SECURITIES Transfer to The Salvation Army an appreciated asset (stocks, bonds) held for more than one year. Qualifies for an income tax charitable deduction for full fair market value; no capital gains tax payable on asset’s appreciated value.

CLOSELY HELD STOCK Business owner gives stock to The Salvation Army, then the corporation may repurchase the same stock. The fair market value of the stock qualifies for a charitable deduction; no capital gains tax.

TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY Donate property to The Salvation Army. Income tax charitable deduction for full fair market value if gift property used by The Salvation Army for its exempt purposes (otherwise, deduction limited to adjusted cost basis). Qualified appraisals are often necessary.

LIFE INCOME PLANS

CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITY Assets (usually cash or securities) donated to The Salvation Army in exchange for fixed annuity payments. The gift portion of the donation qualifies for an income tax charitable deduction; part of payments may be tax-free return of principal; capital gains tax on the transfer is spread over the donor’s life expectancy if donor is the annuitant. CHARITABLE REMAINDER ANNUITY TRUST (CRAT) Set up trust that pays specific annual benefit for life of beneficiary(ies), or for a period up to 20 years; trust property transferred to The Salvation Army when benefits end; usually funded with cash or securities. Qualifies for an income tax charitable deduction; possibly avoids capital gains when funded with long-term appreciated property.

CHARITABLE REMAINDER UNITRUST (CRUT) Similar to CRAT, except income amount varies each year as trust assets are revalued; may be funded with cash, securities and other assets. Same benefits as CRAT. Different funding and payout options (unlike a CRAT).

REVOCABLE GIFTS

BEQUEST Use a will to direct property to The Salvation Army at death. Estate tax charitable deduction for the value of the gift; the donor retains lifetime use and control of property intended as a bequest.

REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST Set up a trust that directs the disposition of assets, including gifts to The Salvation Army; the trust can be revoked or changed. Minimizes costs and delays of probate; facilitates transfer of assets; plan is private, not public (unlike a will); continuity of asset management in the event of death or disability.

RETIREMENT PLAN ASSETS The Salvation Army named as beneficiary of retirement plan assets (other arrangements also possible). This may have estate planning benefits because income in respect of a decedent (IRD) is taxable to heirs but not to The Salvation Army.

OTHER GIFTS

IRA CHARITABLE ROLLOVER IRA owners 70½ or over order a transfer from the IRA directly to our organization. Money directed to The Salvation Army is excluded from the donor’s gross income for federal tax purposes (up to $100,000) but counts toward the donor’s annual required minimum distribution (RMD).

DONOR ADVISED FUND The donor makes an irrevocable contribution to a restricted fund maintained by The Salvation Army. The full amount of the gift qualifies for a charitable income tax deduction; the donor may advise regarding fund distribution, but may not place material restrictions on the fund.

RETAINED LIFE ESTATE A form of real estate gift in which the donor retains the right to live in the property for life. Qualifies for an income tax charitable deduction based on the present value of the remainder interest that will eventually go to The Salvation Army.

CHARITABLE LEAD TRUST (CLT) The Salvation Army receives annual trust income; trust principal reverts to donor or beneficiaries at end of trust term. Qualified CLT may qualify for a gift tax or estate tax charitable deduction or for an income tax charitable deduction, depending on the type of CLT.

LIFE INSURANCE Give a life insurance policy to The Salvation Army, or designate The Salvation Army as beneficiary of the policy, or use a policy as a wealth replacement tool in tandem with a CRAT or CRUT. Possible income tax charitable deduction for the donated policy.

Are you ready to give? Want to know more?

Visit caringmagazine.org/give or contact Debbie Rossi, Western Territorial Executive Director of Development: debbie.rossi@usw.salvationarmy.org (562) 491-8350 30840 Hawthorne Blvd. Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275

READ, LISTEN, BE INSPIRED

I think a truly biblical view of womanhood is that God calls women to do all sorts of things and that God doesn’t and never has limited women to only one type of role. —DR. BETH ALLISON BARR

Dr. Beth Allison Barr

The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth

Men lead. Women follow. The Bible tells us so. Or does it? Is there a divine order when it comes to men and women? What if so-called “biblical womanhood” isn’t biblical at all but arose from a series of clearly definable historical moments? What if there is a better way forward for the contemporary church? Dr. Beth Allison Barr lays out clear evidence that there is in her new book, “The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth.”

Hear Dr. Beth Allison Barr share some of the evidence for a truly biblical view of womanhood in Episode 79 of the Do Gooders Podcast.

Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity

How can you keep your energy, happiness, creativity and relationships thriving in the midst of never-ending family demands, career pressures and simply the stress of everyday life? Here’s the doctor’s orders: Rest is not option-

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith Jeff and André Shinabarger

al. Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith has found seven types of rest lacking in the lives of those she treats: physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, sensory, social and creative. Plus, she knows firsthand the toll a deficiency of rest can take.

Hear Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith share how you can find and embrace true rest on Episode 78 of the Do Gooders Podcast.

Love or Work: Is It Possible to Change the World, Stay in Love and Raise a Healthy Family?

Can we change the world and stay in love and raise a healthy family? That’s exactly what André and Jeff Shinabarger tackle in their latest project. They interviewed 100 modern couples who want it all and partnered with the Barna Group to survey couples across the country. Their book and podcast—titled “Love or Work”—explores the personal stories and research they gathered as they share their own tensions and practices to cultivate a better together.

Hear André and Jeff Shinabarger discuss living on purpose in a new era of work and life on Episode 63 of the Do Gooders Podcast.

BEING A NICE HUMAN ALWAYS HAS A PLACE IN YOUR DAY.

But how to go about it on the average day? Join 23k+ people who care and get weekly inspiration from the Caring Magazine Do Good Digest sent right to your inbox. Visit caringmagazine.org/subscribe.

Gospelbound: Living with Resolute Hope in an Anxious Age

In April 2020, a government emergency hotline for emotional distress heard from 20,000 people—compared with just 1,800 in April 2019. But—pandemic or not—this rise in anxiety isn’t all that surprising. It could be expected, in fact, when our unchanging faith collides with a changing culture. That’s what authors Sarah Zylstra and Collin Hansen explore in their new book: “Gospelbound: Living with Resolute Hope in an Anxious Age.” The influence of Christians with hearts tangled up in the gospel seems to be waning just as we’re needed most. But there’s another story unfolding, too.

Hear Sarah Zylstra counter growing fears with a robust message of a gritty, real, resolute hope for anyone hungry for good news on Episode 77 of the Do Gooders Podcast.

A Simple Guide for How to Pray

Prayer is a conversation between you and God. It’s that simple—and yet, it can feel really hard. That’s why Pete Greig, who co-founded and leads the 24-7 Prayer movement, wrote a how-to guide on making prayer approachable for anyone. Listen as Greig shares more about prayer and yes, how to pray—especially following Jesus’s instructions to keep it simple, keep it real and keep it up.

Hear Pete Greig share a simple guide for how to pray today on Episode 71 of the Do Gooders Podcastt. | C |

Sarah Zylstra Pete Greig

The best thing you can do if you want to grow in prayer is to start simply by saying, 'I find it hard.' —PETE GREIG EVEN MORE GOOD STUFF

GOOD WORDS FROM THE GOOD WORD: AFFIRMATIONS FROM SCRIPTURE Did you know your thoughts change how you feel... and act? Be more intentional with good words from the good Word with these 20 affirmations from Scripture. Purchase online at caringmagazine.org/ resources

CARING SCRIPTURE LIBRARY Get inside the Caring Magazine Scripture Study Collection and find a suite of free, downloadable Bible studies to guide you through topics from New Beginnings Through Forgiveness, to Understanding our Imago Dei or Life Hacks From David. caringmagazine.org/scripture

WHAT’S YOUR CAUSE QUIZ Are you best suited to join the Fight for Good in disaster relief? Mental health? Social justice? Take our What’s Your Cause quiz and discover where you can make the biggest impact today. caringmagazine.org/quiz

FIND YOUR STORY COURSE Hear this: Your story is uniquely yours. It’s the one thing you have that no one else does. And you’re the one who can tell it best. Take our free email course on how to find your voice, own your story and share it with others. caringmagazine.org/story | C |

HowTraining up the workforce with culinary, construction and nursing programs. Sheltering men, women and family units. Giving children their parents back through addiction rehabilitation programs. Responding to disaster in the immediate aftermath and for years following. THE Providing gifts for parents to put under the tree at Christmas. Equipping workers with the proper tools and clothing to get to work. SALVATION Providing emergency foster care for children whose parents cannot take care of them. ARMY DOES Preventing eviction and homelessness with rental assistance. Encouraging those recovering from addiction with Celebrate Recovery meetings. Making sure kids don’t go hungry through daily lunch sack programs. GOOD Providing gas and lodging vouchers for those who need it. Giving youth a safe place to have fun. Building character through youth programs that work on self control, social skills and personal responsibility. Serving Thanksgiving dinner so that everyone in the community can share in the merriment. Letting kids be kids at summer camp. Helping those coming out of human trafficking find hope for a better life. Providing a safe space for women escaping domestic violence. Serving veterans with groceries, housing and mental health services. Tutoring children at risk of falling behind academically. Partnering with groups to ensure shelter guests have healthy vision and dental care. Providing the opportunity for pregnant and parenting teens to earn their high school diploma. caringmagazine.org Connecting those living in transit stations to housing, food and mental health resources. Offering a safe place for those living on the streets to shower and wash their laundry. Creating a safe space for distance learning for kids of working families. Housing those coming out of addiction recovery programs in sober living facilities. Creating sustainable thrift store business practices and eliminating waste. Supporting local food vendors while feeding those in need. Bringing community to seniors. Providing hope through social and spiritual ministries. Offering support to people regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity. Educating youth in dance, art and music at no cost through afterschool programs. Sharing stories from all walks of life to spread faith, inspiration and hope. Providing transportation for those who want to attend worship services and other programs at the corps. Supplying kids with everything they need for back to school. Giving people who want to help an opportunity to give back. Caroling outside your local grocery store at Christmas. Praying with anyone who needs the ministry of presence.

A $100 donation to The Salvation Army can provide three nights of shelter for a person in need.

WILL YOU JOIN US IN THE FIGHT FOR GOOD?

The Salvation Army is committed to doubling our impact on homelessness. By virtue of both our calling and our mission, we bear a special responsibility to do more for those who are struggling on the streets. Whether it’s developing programs that prevent homelessness, operating emergency shelters, opening transitional housing facilities or building permanent supportive housing, we must act. See more about The Salvation Army’s fight to end homelessness at caringmagazine.org/fight-homelessness

The Salvation Army USA Western Territory 30840 Hawthorne Boulevard Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275 PERMIT NO. 1831 LOS ANGELES, CA

Love Beyond Layoffs Dilemmas Despair Skipped Meals Overdue Bills Eviction Cold Nights Loneliness Measure

"Above all, love." –1 Peter 4:8

For 156 years, The Salvation Army has been loving all who feel lost. With your help, we’ll never stop. SalvationArmyUSA.org