Salvation Army to unveil new initiative
Religion Editor chinton@oklahoman.com
The Salvation Army is known for programs that feed hungry people, distribute Christmas gifts to needy children and provide shelter for the homeless.
Those programs remain an important part of the organization, but the faith-based nonprofit has begun an initiative that represents a paradigm shift in its years-long approach to outreach.
The Salvation Army is shifting from treating the symptoms of poverty to working to prevent poverty at its root, said Nathan Emery, divisional director of social services for the Salvation Army’s Arkansas-Oklahoma division.
“A lot of people have labeled us so we’re known for soup kitchens and kettles. That puts us in a box about what we do,” he said.
The Pathway to Hope initiative seeks to go beyond the familiar outreach template.
“I would call it the new face of the Salvation Army,” Emery said.
Division leaders like Emery and leaders with the Salvation Army Central Oklahoma Area Command will host a breakfast from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Thursday to discuss Pathway of Hope with metro community leaders. Ronald Skeete, a Poverty of Hope director based in Atlanta, will be guest speaker.
The “meet and greet” event will be at the Salvation Army Chesapeake Energy Center of Hope, 1001 N Pennsylvania Ave.
Emery said several other Salvation Army divisions across the country have already rolled out the national social services initiative. Its initial target is households with children because one of the initiative’s primary goals is to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty.
Emery said the agency hopes to decrease risk factors for these households and help protect those households that are at risk for poverty and related challenges.
“Locally, we want to provide services all the way from the person who is homeless in the woods to the person who is trying to make it out of poverty to the middle class,” he said. “We’re looking at how our help is impacting an individual person and that’s a huge shift for us.”
Through the initiative, individuals will be taught how to proactively overcome behaviors and patterns that lead and reinforce poverty.
Emery said there’s much excitement as training for Pathway of Hope begins in the Oklahoma City metro area.
“We’re breaking out of our mold,” he said.
Joncia Johnson, Pathway of Hope divisional specialist, said training will be Wednesday and Thursday in Oklahoma City, with attendees coming from Salvation Army units throughout the Arkansas-Oklahoma Division. The division includes Oklahoma cities such as Stillwater, Muskogee and Ardmore as well as the Oklahoma City metro area and Tulsa.
Johnson said she and other Salvation Army leaders hope that chief executive officers and executive directors of local social service agencies and, community partners and other stakeholders attend the breakfast.
Traci Jenkins, communications director for the Salvation Army Central Oklahoma Area Command, said leaders from the Salvation Army’s United Way partner agencies and metroarea mayors and council members also are encouraged to attend.
She said the continental breakfast is free, but RSVP is requested.