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The happy ending......that took 70 years

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Each year people like you help one million Australians through The Salvation Army.

One million Australians. It’s almost impossible to imagine that many people. Think about it this way. If all those people stood side-by-side, there’d be a line stretching from Adelaide a long way past Melbourne. You could drive for 10 hours at 100kmh and still not reach the end of the people you’re part of helping. But let’s stop for a minute. Instead of talking about one million people, we’ll drop the ‘million’
and just talk about one.

Because the care you give through The Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal is one-to-one. They aren’t numbers to be processed, they’re people to be loved. Individuals. Each person you help has had a conversation with someone from the Salvos. For many, it may be the only person they’ve talked to all week. And for many, the help they receive goes far beyond the help they asked or thought they needed.

Like Jim...

You may not realise but the Salvos visit boarding houses around our community, seeking out people who may need extra care. Who, if the Salvos didn’t visit, might just fall through the cracks and disappear.

(These private boarding houses can often be horror stories. Some ruthless proprietors exploit people who don’t easily fit into the regular accommodation system. You might pay $160 a week for a tiny windowless room with a single bed, and a bathroom you share with 10 others. Lights are broken, water is cold, there’s no heating, everything smells of urine.) It was at one of these boarding houses that we met Jim.

Now in his 70s, Jim told us he’d been placed into care at the age of 6, while his sister had been adopted out. Their father had died during World War 2, and their mother couldn’t cope.

Jim is cross-eyed. Being ‘different’ meant he’d been singled out for teasing during his childhood. Worse, he’d suffered major abuse. This scarred him emotionally, so much so that he’d never had a relationship in his life. He said he ‘didn’t feel worthy
of anyone’.

Jim was also almost completely blind, had skin cancer, and because he couldn’t see had badly hurt himself in a fall. His clothes were stained and ragged, but he didn’t know because he couldn’t see them.JIM2.JPG

It took some convincing but we finally got Jim to agree that he needed better care than what he was able to provide for himself. We took him into a Salvation Army hostel, where he could be warm and safe, have hot meals and showers, and people who’d listen when
he talked.

Jim’s reaction was different to what you might expect. He started crying. Then he said, “This is like the Hilton.
I don’t deserve this.”

Once Jim was settled, we were able to provide him with clean clothes. We also arranged for treatment of the skin cancer.

The story doesn’t end there. We used our Family Tracing service to locate Jim’s sister. She was married, and had two children, and we were able to reunite Jim with her and her family.

It took more than 70 years, but finally this man’s life had happiness.

What’s special about Jim? Everything…and nothing. If you sat down and talked with any one of those million people helped through The Salvation Army in a year, you’d hear a story to tear at your heart.

Poverty. Grief. Sickness. Loss. Old age. Mental illness. Loneliness. Abuse....the list of pains people suffer seems to know no end. Thankfully the love and care and generosity of people like you seem to also know no end. And as Jim will tell you, “a happy ending after 70 years is still a happy ending”.


The Salvation Army Family Tracing Service endeavours to locate family members whose current whereabouts are unknown and who are being sought after for the purpose of re-uniting the family. The service began in England in 1885 and today The Salvation Army in Australia helps 40 missing family members each week. Visit our Family Tracing Service section

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Message from Neil

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Greetings,

We are now well into 2009, and it has been an extremely challenging and distressing six months for many Australians. The Victorian Bushfires have not escaped our memory and as the affected communities begin to rebuild their lives, our support and thoughts are with them.

There are more people this year having financial difficulties. The economic crisis affecting the world has not left Australians unaffected. We are seeing more people coming to us for assistance. Many of these people we have never met before.

Compared to this time last year we have thousands of new people seeking our help, and predictions indicate that this will continue to rise while our economy recovers. Comparing this year to last we are assisting more than 2,000 more homeless people and providing care to more than 50,000 more people at our community support centres. These figures are staggering, but reflective of the greater need in our community this year.

Our annual Red Shield Appeal has concluded for this year with $35 million being raised across The Salvation Army Australia Southern Territory. This is 2.5% up on last year’s result which I find so encouraging as I know many household budgets are under pressure yet so many members of our community are still so generous. We greatly appreciate the efforts of thousands of volunteer collectors who gave up their time to support the doorknock this year.

Donations to our Red Shield Appeal directly support people in need. Funds ensure we can continue to help people put food on their table, help them find freedom from addiction, find a place to rest their head at night and give them safety from abuse. Without your generosity we would not be able to extend care to more than one million people each year who come to us for help.

As we prepare for the next six months leading up to our busiest time of the year, Christmas, I ask you to continue to consider other Australians in your thoughts. By supporting The Salvation Army you are supporting the many thousands of people who are finding it hard to get by. Every day we are opening our doors to them, welcoming them in and working with them to help make positive changes.

Thank you for standing at the door with us to meet and engage with those who call. Your support means so much to so many disadvantaged and marginalised Australians.

God Bless.

Neil Venables (Major)

– Territorial Public Relations Secretary

Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are a member of my family, you did it to me

– Mathew 25:40

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The Sony Foundation

VICTORIA_AWARDS_2009.JPGThe Salvation Army has partnered with the Sony Foundation to develop the Sony and Salvos’ Youth Music project. As part of this project we are creating 10 centres for youth for writing music and performing as a therapy for processing emotions, and giving youth a voice and empowerment.

This project will involve our youth workers and local secondary schools, and will be coordinated by a project manager. In addition to employment of team members we will be purchasing music and recording equipment. The Salvation Army is grateful for the support of the Sony Foundation which has donated more than $1.8 million to fund this project.

Pictured above: The Salvation Army’s Chief Secretary, Colonel Raymond Finger, with The Hon. Candy Broad MP, Member for Northern Victoria, and Mr Denis Handlin AM, Sony Music Entertainment Australia and New Zealand, Chairman and CEO and Sony Foundation Governor.

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Case Studies – New Beginnings

Linda

Linda first came to The Salvation Army a few years ago when she was pregnant and fleeing a domestic violence situation. The Salvation Army was able to provide her with safety and an opportunity to begin a new life with her newborn child.

Things were difficult for Linda, her daughter was born with severe health problems. That meant that she had to remain in hospital for the first two years of her life. During this time The Salvation Army continued to support Linda, providing her with emotional support and assistance when she needed it.LINDA.JPG

Linda’s child is now at home, but being a sole parent is hard. Things seem to be getting more difficult. Linda’s rent just went up to $300 a week, the cost of providing child care have gone up and bills keep coming in.

“I just wish I could get two weeks where there were no bills, and I could just buy my child an icy pole or a treat,” said Linda.

“Sometimes I look in my wallet and there is only $15 dollars left for the week. With this I need to buy petrol and everything else,” she said.

Linda cuts costs where she can, going without meat so that she can provide nutritious meals for her child. Although times are tough Linda still manages to make a difference to others by volunteering at her local Salvation Army Community Support Centre.

“The Salvation Army has helped me for many years and this is my way of being able to give back,”
said Linda.

Alex

Alex left home at 14. He spent the next four years moving around staying with friends and family when he could. He also started using drugs at 14. What began as recreational use of marijuana ended in a dangerous meth amphetamine habit. As he got older he found himself using more drugs and getting into more trouble with the police.

Looking back Alex now recognises how dangerous his life was. Not eating on some days as he had used all his money for drugs. Being assaulted, sleeping rough on the streets at times were all normal parts of his everyday life. In Alex’s own words if his life had continued down the same path he believes he would probably be dead or in ditch somewhere.

Alex is so grateful for the opportunities, support and friendship that he has found at The Salvation Army in Brunswick. After completing a five-week course to learn some skills that will help with employment, he then enrolled in the VCAL program offered. This means that at the end of this year he will have a VCE equivalent qualification.

Now 18, Alex is living back with his mum and believes that the welcoming and supportive team at Brunswick Salvation Army have been and continue to be a critical part of his life transformation.

Listen to Alex’s story:

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Quick News Headlines

from The Salvation Army Australia Southern Territory

  • The Territorial Commander, Commissioner James Knaggs, met with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to discuss important social welfare issues in Canberra
  • Construction has started on the new St Kilda Crisis Accommodation Centre that will provide hundreds of homeless young people in Victoria with accommodation, support, advice and assistance to find more permanent accommodation. The new centre will cost $7 million to complete
  • In May, The Salvation Army in Western Australia unveiled a $30 million plan to expand services for the homeless and families affected by domestic violence. This includes a $18 million project to rebuild the Crisis Accommodation Centre for homeless men in East Perth
  • The Factory, a new youth drop in centre in South Australia, will open in a couple of months time. This centre will provide youth aged 12 to 25 with a strong support network and a safe place to spend time
  • The Sturt Junior Football Club in South Australia collected for the Red Shield Appeal for the 10th year in a row this year. Players collected in their uniforms and raised $1,000 for the appeal
  • The Salvation Army will be involved in activities regarding Homeless Persons Week and Missing Persons Week both taking place from August 3 to 9.

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Bushfire Assistance Update


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  • The Salvation Army has spent more than $7 million to date providing relief to bushfire affected Victorian communities
  • A new voucher system is being trialled to support local businesses affected by the bushfire. This system provides vouchers to people seeking assistance for businesses in their local area, this will help businesses struggling to recover and remain viable
  • The Salvation Army’s Emergency Services team is still involved in supporting people involved in the recovery effort. We recently received a request to provide meals for 50 volunteers installing fencing in the Kilmore area. Within 24 hours of the request a Salvo mobile kitchen was onsite – during the bushfire crisis our Emergency Services teams prepared more than 30,000 meals for people tirelessly fighting the fires
  • The Salvation Army was able to provide more than 20 cars, which were generously donated by members of the public, to people who had lost their transport in the fires.

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A Thank You Note

To the absolutely wonderful ladies and gentleman who were the happy workers on Tuesday, I’m writing to express my heartfelt thanks and love for your assistance and generosity towards me in a very desperate time of need. You all showed super-human warmth, sincerity and kindness with of which I haven’t seen in a very very long time and you will always be remembered and never forgotten. Thanking you all, with all my heart.

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Tough Economic Conditions


Hitting Those in Need

Recently we surveyed almost 1,500 people who came to our community support centres about how the global financial crisis was affecting them. As a comparison we also asked 200 members of the general public the same questions via our website.

The results show that for people who were already finding things hard last year, are significantly worse off this year, both financially and psychologically. Comparatively, the general public survey indicated that more than half had experienced no change this year to last, in fact some also reported to be better off.

The survey highlights the following critical points:

  • 48% of our clients felt depressed about their own situation
  • 53% of our clients have cut down on basic necessities
  • 22% of our clients have experienced new conflict in their family because of the worsening economic conditions.

We know that more people will be coming to our door this year, as the global financial crisis continues to impact Australians. The Salvation Army will continue to be a place where people can come for help. If they are experiencing conflict at home, are struggling to make ends meet or really have nowhere to go, the Salvos door will be open.

Your support is crucial to our ability to care for more than one million people who come to us each year. As a supporter you are our partner, you are standing beside us as we reach out to those in need, you are with us as we provide refuge to victims of abuse, and you are there as we offer people life transforming opportunities.

For full survey results please visit www.salvationarmy.org.au/gfc

Previous editions of On The Street: Christmas 08 | Christmas 07 | Winter 07