Faith&Friends
COMMON GROUND
“ It’s the Salvation Army Way” For Dave, a humble moment turned into a hopeful one. by Angela Rafuse
D
ave and his wife, Donna, have been longtime volunteers with The Salvation Army. But when Dave offered to hang a sign in downtown Halifax, he didn’t realize the words of a woman experiencing homelessness would give him a newfound appreciation for the blessings in his life. “I’ll Be All Right” “As I was hanging a sign outside an Army building to let clients affected by COVID-19 know who they could contact, I noticed her on the sidewalk settling into a homemade shelter of blankets and boxes,” says Dave. “She was in her mid 50s, and you could tell her whole life was on that concrete. It broke my heart to see.” After the sign was secure, he went back to his car where Donna was waiting. They found a bag of cookies and a few dollars in change. “I went across the street and handed it to her, and she said, ‘No, thank you, I’m fine.’ But I insisted she take it.”
8 • JUNE 2020 I faithandfriends.ca
A Soul in Need When Dave saw the woman in her homemade shelter of boxes and blankets, he knew The Salvation Army could help her
Dave and Donna knew there was more The Salvation Army could do to help her, so they called the Centre of Hope, which was assisting with the opening of pop-up shelters in downtown Halifax to ensure proper distancing in current shelters. “The centre was so busy right then, but the girl who answered the phone still wanted to help. She put together a bag with a sandwich, water and fruit,” explains Donna. “We drove over immediately to
