Suffering in Silence

Posted on 1st February 2019, by SalvationArmy.ca
Lawrence stand with Salvation Army worker in front of Ottawa Booth Centre
For 38 years, Lawrence used hard drugs to wipe out the memories of the sexual trauma he experienced while growing up. Last year, he graduated from a Salvation Army drug treatment program in Ottawa. “I’m glad I came here,” says Lawrence. “My life needed to change.” From an early age, heartbreak shattered Lawrence’s self-worth and  […]

How The Salvation Army Supports the Homeless in Cold Weather

Posted on 10th January 2019, by SalvationArmy.ca
Salvation Army worker retrieves supplies from mobile feeding unit
Salvation Army cold weather programs across the country are ramping up for the 2019 winter season. When the temperatures plummet, we work hard to ensure no one spends the night in the cold. “The Salvation Army’s priority during cold weather is to ensure safety by connecting people with services, either emergency or within the community,”  […]
Winnipeg booth centre empty shelter beds
Since the first influx of people entered Manitoba from the U.S., The Salvation Army has provided food and shelter to refugee claimants. But as more people cross the border, shelter beds at its Booth Centre are filling up and space to house them is becoming less available. “We have worked hard to make beds available  […]

Shelter Expansion Will Help People Break the Cycle of Poverty

Posted on 3rd March 2017, by SalvationArmy.ca
Brent Hobden, community ministries director, stands in front of shelter expansion construction
Construction is well underway at The Salvation Army’s emergency shelter in Courtney, B.C., which will provide necessary resources to help vulnerable people escape poverty. “We are seeing families and individuals over and over again―many from generational poverty,” says Brent Hobden, Community Ministries Director. “Renovations to the shelter will provide space to accommodate job and life  […]

Changing the Stories of Homelessness

Posted on 24th February 2017, by SalvationArmy.ca
150,000 people access emergency shelters in canada anually. Marguerite sits on a couch in the SAs cedar place
The numbers are eye-opening. On any given night in Canada, more than 4,000 women and 2,400 children are living in emergency shelters. “Homelessness is devastating and confusing when you have no choice but to leave an unsafe situation,” says 59-year-old Marguerite. “After a family altercation I ended up couch surfing with friends. Then I moved  […]
Salvation Army booth centre winnipeg
As asylum-seekers make their way through deep, snow-covered fields into Manitoba, The Salvation Army is providing shelter and safety once they arrive in Winnipeg. “Most are carrying nothing more than a backpack,” says Major Rob Kerr of The Salvation Army. “They need all their energy to get through the fields.” The Salvation Army Booth Centre  […]

A Former Addict Turns Her Life Around

Posted on 12th September 2016, by SalvationArmy.ca
Samantha waters plants on Belkin House rooftop garden
“I thought I was going to die a drug addict,” says Samantha. “For the better part of 25 years I liked how the drugs made me feel. Then, one day, I reached rock bottom.” In January 2014 Samantha committed a crime and went to jail. Beaten down by addiction, emptiness, hopelessness and despair, she desperately  […]

On the Other Side of Homelessness

Posted on 15th August 2016, by SalvationArmy.ca
Support worker, Charlie, helps people at Centre of Hope
Charlie Pittman was on his way to end his life when he took a detour into the doors of The Salvation Army men’s shelter in Halifax. It wasn’t easy to walk through the doors and say he needed help, but he’s grateful he did. “I had been sleeping outside on a park bench for four  […]

More than Shelter

Posted on 4th November 2015, by SalvationArmy.ca
Kaitlyn is safe at a Salvation Army shelter in Winnipeg
Kaitlyn, a 23-year-old single parent, lived with her sister. When the landlord discovered Kaitlyn had a two-week-old baby, he asked her to leave. With no place to go, she arrived at The Salvation Army’s Family Shelter in Winnipeg. Here she found a safe place and assistance in pursuing a stable environment.   “I had no  […]