Call to Care

Today we had some special visitors at the shelter:  Mrs. Steffen’s 4th Grade Class from White Lick Elementary School.  These children chose the Salvation Army Women and Children’s Shelter as the focus for their service learning project this semester.  The kids wanted to know how they could help after learning that there are kids just like them that are homeless.

The kids collected 261 cell phones which will be shipped to Shelter Alliance, a program that gives domestic violence shelters money in exchange for used cell phones.

The class also prepared 100 fleece blankets and 100 welcome packages for the kids living in the shelter.  Each welcome package included a personal card prepared by Mrs. Steffen’s students.

It was such a priviledge today to witness a group of kids with a servant’s heart hoping to make a difference in other’s lives!  Thank you to everyone who participated in this years “Call to Care.”

“If you can imagine it, you can acheive it; if you can dream it, you can become it.”
-William Arthur Ward

Maturing and Growing Up

Bell* came to the shelter after her family moved back to Indianapolis from Florida.  She had to find shelter on her own because she was over 18, while the rest of her family could stay together.  She quickly found a part time job but was still struggling with what she was going to do.  She was hoping to find a place with her mother, however in the few months that Bell resided in the shelter she matured and came to her own.  She decided that it would be better to find her own place and go to school.  With a little coaxing she applied to schools and looked for financial aid.  Bell found a place of her own in the beginning of May.  She will be taking classes at Ivy Tech and will start at IUPUI in January!

*Names have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the client.

Karen’s Story

“My name is Karen* and I have a beautiful, intelligent little three year old girl.  When I came to the shelter I was leaving a domestic violence relationship and a very depressing home environment.  I decided I had finally had enough of the abuse and that our home environment was no longer safe for myself or my daughter.  So, after formulating a plan to escape I talked with the staff at The Salvation Army.  They were very welcoming and I knew it was a place that would be safe and allow me to start over. 

The shelter was such a helpful place for my daughter and I.  We were in such a time of need and The Salvation Army was just the helping hand we needed.  We stayed at the shelter for a few months.  While living there I attended classes to prepare me for living on my own and to cope with the abuse we had experienced.  Finally, I took steps to get our lives back on track.  I decided to take CNA classes so I could build a career.  The Salvation Army helped give me information about getting back on my feet.  They also provided resources to places that would help pay for CNA classes – that was amazing!  I am thankful to have found people so helpful and caring. 

In closing, my stay at the Salvation Army was a life changing step in the right direction.  I now have an apartment of my own.  My daughter and I are in relief of all of the stress and very happy.  We appreciate all of the people at The Salvation Army and are thankful to have had the experience to be around so many loving people.”

*Names have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the client.

Vote for Us!

Attention all Facebook users!

Target is giving away $3 million to 10 national charities using it’s Facebook page. Vistiors to Facebook.com/target will be able to vote for their favorite charity. Each Charity will receive a percentage of the $3 million based on the percentage of votes they receive on Target’s Facebook page.

The Salvation Army is one of the 10 charities chosen by Target to receive this money. Currently, The Salvation Army is working with Target to create Target / Salvation Army Libraries across the country. The libraries will be available to local communities as a resource center for children and adults. Indianapolis is one of the communities which will host a new Target / Salvation Army Library.

The money received by The Salvation Army through Facebook voting will go to the national Target / Salvation Army Library project. Log in now and vote for The Salvation Army! You can vote once a day, every day!

-Julia

Unplanned Plans

We have been seeing some major changes here at the Social Service Center in the last few months.  A big part of those changes is an increased involvement from Response Church, an inner city church plant that has partnered with the SSC to help us serve our clients. 

Monday nights at 6:30 volunteers and clients look forward to “Ladies Night,” a group started to celebrate, encourage and uplift the women living in the shelter.  The group is centered around nail polish.  We hang out and talk, do manicures and pedicures, have massage therapists do chair massages once a month and do other various fun activities.  It has been a fun group to start an watch grow and we plan to blog more on it in the upcoming weeks.

June 1st Response will be starting a similar group for the kids, Monday Fun-Day.  I put some volunteers in charge of planning and running the group as I am deeply involved in the Monday night women’s group.  Here is what the leader of that group, Adam, has to say about their planning so far:

“Yesterday was one of those days where have you step back and know that you are not in control of anything. 
 
I am probably one of the most unorganized, random, right-brained people you will meet.  I have been placed in charge of putting together a kid’s group for the summer at the shelter.  As you can imagine, my right-brained functions don’t quite allow me the pleasure of planning this thing by myself successfully.  I recruited some help.  The two people that are helping me plan this whole thing are just has random as I am.  It has been interesting thus far to have planning meetings with these two and we have all kinds of funny stories about our randomness already.  We have an entire 14 week program planned out for kids at the shelter from 2nd grade to high school with the goal of positive mentoring to serve like Christ.  Most recently I have been freaking out about volunteers and finding the right ones.  I made a huge list and reduced it down to about 4 people I could depend on, including myself and the other 2 people helping me plan it.  Through friends of friends most recently though I’ve seen the list jump to 10 solid people who are actually excited and passionate about this group.
 
Yesterday I set up a meeting with 2 people I’ve never met before in my life.  Through exchanging of emails and phone calls I realized that God brought them right to me.  I am meeting one guy tonight at a local coffee shop and a girl Monday night at the same location.  Through the emails and phone conversations I am sure that they will fit right in.  I’m meeting with them to really hear their stories and make sure they will be a part of this group because they couldn’t see themselves doing anything else this summer.  I see God doing big things through this group organized by the most unorganized.  Next week we are meeting with all the volunteers to do a brief orientation, hand out the summer schedules and go over basic ins and outs of how we want to be as a group this summer.
 
Now that I look at a detailed goals and methods sheet, a full 14 week calendar, and list of 10 solid volunteers with similar hearts for these kids and this shelter, I just step back and say thank you, thank you to a God who is and has been putting all this together in order to do a work this summer He planned long before He allowed me, a messy, right-brained, unorganized guy to even get involved.”

Check back often to get updates Ladies Night, Monday Fun-Day, and how the shelter is changing lives and impacting our city. 

-Julia

April Statistics

I am often asked to give statistics regarding the number of people we are serving, the average length that clients stay at the Social Service Center, etc.  Here are some statistics from the month of April:

We had 58 new adults and 22 new children come into the shelter in April.

51 adults and 26 children continued to receiving services from the previous month (March).

The average length of stay for April:  67 nights.  Some clients stay for one night and some for many months, depending on their individual situation.

Of the number of clients served in April, 107 of the women and children received shelter due to domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, isolation and forced prostitution.

The shelter served 6,586 meals in April.

Want to help us help others?  Click on “Donate” to see how.

-Julia

A New Found Stability

Jaime* has been in and out of shelter several times over the past six years.  She has struggled immensely with addiction issues.  Jaime has managed to maintain sobriety for over a year now.  She was finally approved for Shelter Plus Care and has acquired permanent housing.

Recently Jaime was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She will have surgery next week.  Her case manager at the Salvation Army Social Service Center has assisted her with hygiene items, food, support and transportation to medical appointments.

Despite all of the recent events in Jaime’s life, she has managed to remain sober.

*Names have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the client.