Salvation Army launches program to help impoverished families

The Salvation Army of Hot Springs has started a “Pathway of Hope” program to assist families climbing out of poverty by helping parents earn their GED and teaching common practices like budgeting and socializing to families.

The program, which started about a month and a half ago, is free to any local family with children.

Captain Bradley Hargis said they like to have children in the program with their parents because kids and parents can learn how to escape poverty together.

“Unfortunately, (for) generations that are trapped in poverty it’s a learned thing, and one of the things we’ve seen is they can also unlearn it together, too,” Hargis said. “So the goal of the program is not only do the parents get out of poverty, but the children do, too.”

For the adult portion of the program, parents will focus on earning their GED through National Park College, he said, and for the family portion, they will learn things like how to shop for and prepare food, and how to plan a budget.

Hargis said another focus for families will be learning how to get involved with a local church or ministry.

“Not necessarily The Salvation Army,” he said, “but just making sure they have some kind of support system around them; then also just making sure they’re working on things like developing social capital and good relationships.”

As for developing “social capital,” Hargis said it doesn’t just have to be within a ministry.

“One example is, unfortunately, law enforcement is not viewed favorably by a lot of people in poverty,” he said. “One of the things we try hard to work at is that if they will develop a relationship with someone at the police department, they kind of lose that and look upon them favorably, and kind of develop friends that way.”

The program is funded through private Salvation Army donors, and the GED portion is financially assisted through National Park College.

According to a news release, Terry Bright, an advisory board member of the Hot Springs Salvation Army, works as the coordinator of career services at NPC and is using her position to assist in the GED portion of the program.

“The Pathway of Hope program is an initiative which allows The Salvation Army to work together with moCounty

tivated families to propel them away from generational poverty and toward self-sufficiency,” the release reads. “It addresses the root causes of poverty and works with the client as they move through the program which can last up to 18 months or longer. This program is aligned with core values of the Salvation Army of giving hope for those who are hurting, whether it is an encouraging word, emergency assistance or as simple as a listening ear. Meeting human need in His name without discrimination is the mission of The Salvation Army.”