Employee pays it forward after The Salvation Army helped him as a child

Helped by the Salvation Army as a child, Army veteran Jose Ramirez now helps people in crisis at the Phoenix Family Services Shelter.

BY CARAMIE PETROWSKY

Jose Ramirez was 6 years old when his mother took him and his three sisters and fled domestic violence in their home in Juarez, Mexico. He said his father, a Vietnam veteran, returned from war carrying burdens that spilled over into family life.

“As a therapist, I understand the gaps in services that were not available then for veterans.

I can only imagine what he went through coming back,” said Ramirez, 44, who now works as a recreation therapist and activities coordinator at Phoenix Family Services in Phoenix, Arizona.

His family crossed the border into El Paso, Texas, with the clothes on their back and no place to turn. The Salvation Army stepped in to help.

“We didn’t have anything,” Ramirez recalled. “We didn’t have anywhere to go. And my mom had a huge language barrier. Someone referred her to The Salvation Army and that’s where we started getting assistance.”

A case manager helped the family access government assistance and move into an apartment. Help also came in the form of clothing and cold-weather gear like coats and sweaters. Each month, the family received food boxes from The Salvation self in what the Getting Ahead class calls the “tyranny of the moment,” when a person is so stressed they are unable to think clearly; they are in survival mode.

Hurt said she first worked with Johnson to get her and her son into a shelter that was “packed.”

It was a start, though. Hurt said that at first, Johnson didn’t want to approach one of the agencies that deal with domestic violence that could offer her more resources.

“That was her decision,” Hurt said. “But she eventually decided to do it… and the agency helped her get into a shelter where they would have their own room.”

Meanwhile, Hurt made sure Johnson was on the list for subsidized housing. “We worked on that and she moved into her apartment; she’d had her baby—a girl—about four months ago.

“After years of being homeless, they moved in two days before Thanksgiving,” she said. And for Christmas, Johnson and her kids received gifts from a generous sponsor through the Adopt-A-Family program, arranged by Hurt.

Although the Boise program is small since Hurt is the only case manager, it’s had notable success. Since January 2022, she’s worked with 16 families and exited five to stable housing.

“I’m excited that Kira has expanded and made this program so impactful for our clients,” Thomas Stambaugh said.

She stays in touch with those who have finished the program, and recently completed three, three-month follow-up appointments.

“For the most part, they are all self-sufficient,” Hurt said. “They’ve changed their behaviors and thoughts. The class really helps, too…It’s just very rewarding to see people making such improvements in their life.”

Hurt hopes the program receives funding so it can add more case managers, and serve more families.

When the Boise program changed its name, it also shifted its emphasis, from poverty to hope.

“We believe by doing this, we have

We didn’t have anything. We didn’t have anywhere to go. And my mom had a huge language barrier. Someone referred her to The Salvation Army and that’s where we started getting assistance.

—JOSE RAMIREZ

Army. And the children always had gifts at Christmas thanks to The Salvation Army.

“The shield has always been something I grew up recognizing,” he said.

Ramirez’s mother taught him to be thankful for those who want to help and never to forget that kindness.

When he joined the Army, there was an opportunity to donate money to a nonprofit organization. Each month, he faithfully donated $50 to The Salvation Army in memory of all they had done to help his family.

In 2017, Ramirez retired from the Army after 22 years of service. He returned to college, earning his undergraduate degree in human services immediately followed by a master’s degree in social work. The coronavi- rus hit while Ramirez was in graduate school, and he struggled to find a place to complete his internship. Again, The Salvation Army welcomed him with open arms.

“I called the Phoenix Family Services Shelter, where I work currently, and it was like they were waiting for me,” he said. “They told me, ‘Of course, we will take you.’”

While interning at the shelter for a year, Ramirez learned firsthand how The Salvation Army can change a family or an individual.

“Jose started as a social work intern and it was apparent to those around him that he had the passion and drive to make a difference in people’s lives, so I offered him the role of Recreation

BY KAREN GLEASON

SScott Blair found an unconventional way to do good at Christmastime.

It began in July 2022, when Blair started a job at Geppetto’s Italian Restaurant in Salem, Oregon, one of his favorite hangouts. There, he works as a bartender, server and lottery attendant—Geppetto’s has five Oregon Lottery machines. One of his duties is to collect any funds left behind in the machines, which he could then keep for himself.

Blair, however, had other plans for the money he collected. Geppetto’s owner Julie Hoy heard him announce, as he retrieved his first lottery cash-out slip, “I’m going to donate the money to Toys for Tots.”

Blair said he was always partial to that cause.

“I see so many kids doing without,” he said. “I’ve done without; my kids have done without. So it’s always been something that leans on my heart.”

He said he knew from the beginning he wanted to use the money to help someone else. “I’m pretty much content,” he said. “I have everything I need.”

He did say he was saving up for one personal item—new dentures. His current set doesn’t fit properly. “I don’t smile a lot because of it,” he said.

As the days and months passed, Blair continued collecting the lottery funds for others. Finally, during Geppetto’s staff Christmas party Dec. 19, 2022, he approached Hoy and handed her $160 in cash. He thought it might be too late for Toys for Tots but he trusted Hoy would get the money to someone who needed it.

“I had no idea that we’d end up raising so much, just by the little bit of change we’re getting,” he said. “It’s never a whole lot per day. We might end up making $2 or $3 a day, maybe.”

Two days after Blair gave her the money, Hoy attended a Salem Chamber of Commerce Women in Business event, where she connected with Jennifer Rounsaville, Business Development Specialist for The Salvation Army Salem Kroc Center and instrumental in the organization’s Toy ‘n Joy program, which partners with Toys for Tots. Hoy told her about Blair and his fundraising.