Contents
“We the People” • WINTER 2011/2012 • VOL. 17 NO. 4
03 04 05 06
10 12
My Corner INTERACT PERSPECTIVE NEWS BITES_ World culture faith work Interview_ Susan Burton ideas_ inspiration initiative first person
18
DIRECT INTERVENTION
24
reducing disasters of tomorrow
26 27
In the public square war Therapy through papermaking
30
A decade well traveled
33
based in Basra, Baghdad and Babylon
36 42 44
A united approach to veterans’ services Review Resources
At work in a Baja California hot spot
20
There’s more to like with Sprint. Instant savings on monthly service plans is just the start. Take a longer look and discover more reasons to choose Sprint service. Special discounts for members of The Salvation Army.
Save with discounts
17
% on select regularly priced monthly service plans Requires a new two-year Agreement.
THE HOLISTIC MINISTRY OF THE SALVATION ARMY Winter 2011/2012, vol. 17 no. 04 ISSN 2164-5922
Caring is published quarterly by The Salvation Army and seeks to: Reclaim ‘acts of mercy’ as imperatives to holiness. Bring the Army’s ministries of evangelistic and social outreach into one holistic ministry. Describe exemplary programs seeking to integrate the goals of the Army’s holistic ministries. Foster innovation and the development of creative approaches to ministry. Edify, enlighten, enrich and stimulate discussion among Salvationists involved in caring ministries. Provide a forum for examination of critical social issues within the Army. Report on important and relevant research in areas of holistic ministry. Review critical contributions of scholars and writers within relevant fields of ministry.
> Sprint leads among all carriers in call
satisfaction and first call resolution.1 > Sprint ranks #6 among the 500
Examine The Salvation Army as an organization in respect to its history, purpose, mission and future.
Greenest Companies in America according to the Newsweek 2010 Green Rankings2 > Kiplinger’s Best of 2010:
STAFF
Sprint’s Everything Data with Any Mobile, AnytimeSM
Editor in Chief/Robert Docter, Ph.D. bob.docter@usw.salvationarmy.org Managing Editor/Christin Davis christin.davis@usw.salvationarmy.org Assistant Editor/Erica Andrews erica.andrews@usw.salvationarmy.org Contributing Editor/Karen Gleason karen.gleason@usw.salvationarmy.org Associate Editor/Buffy Lincoln buffy.lincoln@usw.salvationarmy.org Circulation/Arlene DeJesus arlene.dejesus@usw.salvationarmy.org
> Sprint is America’s Favorite 4G
Network. > If you buy online from Sprint, you
get free shipping and a $50 invoice credit (restrictions apply) > Ready Now, one-on-one
personalized setup, is provided at select Sprint Stores
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Sprint is the #1 most improved company in customer satisfaction, across all industries, over the last three years.
Major Betty Israel/USA National Headquarters Major Geoffrey Allan/USA Central Territory Major Florence Townsend/USA Eastern Territory Kevin Tomson-Hooper/USA Southern Territory Major Lawrence Shiroma/USA Western Territory
LAYOUT & DESIGN
Visit The Salvation Army Private Online Store sprint.com/salvationarmy to view exclusive savings and promotions for The Salvation Army!
Missing your discount? Call 866-853-4931 Visit a Sprint Store sprint.com/storelocator
Be sure to reference Corporate ID: NASVA_ZZZ 1
www.vocalabs.com/pr/sprint-takes-lead-call-satisfaction-and-first-call-resolution
Newsweek Green Rankings based upon environmental impact, green policies and performance, and reputation survey scores as of October 18, 2010. 2
Up to $350/line early termination fee (ETF) for advanced devices and up to $200 ETF/line for other devices (no ETF for Agreements cancelled in compliance with Sprint’s Return Policy). America’s Favorite 4G Claim: Based on number of Sprint 4G subscribers vs. those on other wireless 4G (WiMax and LTE) networks in the U.S. Individual-Liable Discount: Available only to eligible employees of the company or organization participating in the discount program. May be subject to change according to the company’s agreement with Sprint. Available upon request on select plans and only for eligible lines. Discount applies to monthly service charges only. No discounts apply to add-ons $29.99 or below. Other Terms: Coverage not available everywhere. Sprint 4G network reaches over 70 markets and counting, on select devices. Sprint 3G network reaches over 274 million people. Nationwide Sprint and Nextel National Networks reach over 278 and 279 million people, respectively. Offers not available in all markets/retail locations or for all phones/networks. Pricing, offer terms, fees and features may vary for existing customers not eligible for upgrade. Other restrictions apply. See store or sprint.com for details. ©2011 Sprint. Sprint and the logo are trademarks of Sprint. Other marks are the property of their respective owners. N095970 MV1234567
Art Director/Kevin Dobruck kevin.dobruck@usw.salvationarmy.org Graphic Designer/Adriana Rivera adriana.rivera@usw.salvationarmy.org
ADVERTISING
Inquire to 562/491-8723 or caring@usw.salvationarmy.org.
CIRCULATION
Send address changes to Caring, P.O. Box 22646, Long Beach, CA 90802 or caring@usw.salvationarmy.org. SALVATION ARMY USA WESTERN TERRITORIAL HEADQUARTERS Territorial Commander/Commissioner James Knaggs Chief Secretary/Colonel Dave Hudson P.O. Box 22646 180 East Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802 562/491-8723 • Fax 562/491-8791 e-mail: caring@usw.salvationarmy.org Facebook: CaringMagazine Twitter: @CaringMagazine Unless otherwise indicated, all contents copyright© 2011 by New Frontier Publications, The Salvation Army, USA Western Territory, 180 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802 USA. If requested, permission to reproduce is usually freely granted. Please contact the publisher before reproducing.
Freedom, fear and faith By Robert Docter
These three ways of being—freedom—fear and faith, are inextricably linked. •They rest firmly on one of the foundational principles that guide our society, that of individualism. •Together, they have much to say about the gradual erosion of our culture as the norms that define us gradually disappear. We find ourselves, then, in a morass of modern meaninglessness accompanied by its partner, loneliness. •They contribute to the nature of our belief systems, particularly to our beliefs concerning the role of government in our lives. •They speak loudly about our attention to morality, to the criteria we establish in acting on our values. •We attach them together on a swinging pendulum that allows us to appear as what we are not. We often select our actions on the basis of whether or not we will be apprehended, who’s looking, or simply using “group think” to guide our decisions. •We fear collective thought, avoid any confrontation with ethics and have forgotten how to build community. Everywhere, we see, hear or read about individuals focused on thoughts of self, acting only in a manner to achieve their own self-centered interests. This is freedom gone astray and morality ignored. Because we have choices we believe we are
Our solitary commitment to individualism needs to include others. This requires a move toward community. granted various gradations of license to behave in any manner we want. Our goals, most often, seem to be pleasure oriented. The strong, noble autonomous individual stands out as the heroic model of the culture. The propaganda images from advertising incessantly shout how great we will look, how smart we will be, how wise and strong will be our image if we do this, or dress like that, or fly that airline. This individualism leads freedom to trump all other values, especially that of equality. People, today, demand the right to choose almost anything and everything. Any attempt to restrict the choices of individuals or corporations (now defined as being individuals with all the rights assigned individuals) raises threats and elevates fear among us. Some of these fears are rational. If your house drowned (underwater and foreclosed), your dog disappeared, your children become reclusive, you can’t make the rent, your cobra health plan expired, and your depressed principal breadwinner is a 50-yearold 99er (someone unemployed for over 99 weeks with unemployment compensation ending), you have genuine fear—a pervasive sense of foreboding, elevated tension, continual anxiety, embarrassment and Bob Docter, exhaustion. Ph. D., is the Some broad based fears, editor in chief however, are not real. They of New Frontier are imagined. Some seem Publications. stimulated by media sources that inform us hourly that people are very fearful of
an undefined future. This is contagious, and even though we live on a fixed income, we begin to catch the gloom and look over our shoulders. Many seem to fear that anyone, especially government itself, may reduce the scope of personal freedom. Then, as they recognize this freedom in themselves, they become frightened about how to use it and the responsibility mandated within it. Freedom cannot long exist in the absence of responsibility. Often, this threat has a “Chicken Little” component (“the sky is falling, the sky is falling”) or is patently and knowingly false. Many candidates for public office regularly use the technique to frighten us into supporting their candidacy. This behavior has elements of bad faith within it. If a statement is patently false or said in a manner knowingly and deliberately to misrepresent an idea and deceive a listener, thus elevating that person’s fear for purpose of self-gain, it is dishonest, a fraud, a deception. It’s like someone guaranteeing you a significant economic gain if you will invest a sum of money with them. It is not justified as freedom of speech. Our solitary commitment to individualism needs to include others. This requires a move toward community. I urge you to try to make it happen. w
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
3
Photo Contest: The generational image, according to you [Write us: caring@usw.salvationarmy.org or facebook.com/CaringMagazine] Connect with us for daily doses of Caring: twitter @CaringMagazine facebook.com/CaringMagazine
To subscribe: Phone: 562-491-8723 Email: caring@usw. salvationarmy.org Facebook: visit our “store” tab Rates: 1 year (4 issues) $15 U.S., $18 Canada and Mexico, $20 other countries. Contact us for bulk subscription discounts.
Guide to QR codes:
1
Download app: A QR code is a two-dimensional barcode that can be read by smart phone cameras. Search “QR code” to find a free downloadable app for your phone.
2 3
Scan code: Hold your phone over a box. The app will use your camera to read the code. Explore: The code will direct your phone to a website, video, photo or something else to explore.
4
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
Caring is holding its first-ever image contest leading up to the spring 2012 issue on generations. Submissions should capture generational changes in The Salvation Army throughout the last century and will be accepted in three formats: photography, altered images and mixed media. The winning image will receive a spread in the spring issue and a photography related prize; second and third place images will also be printed in the issue. Please email submissions to caring@usw.salvationarmy.org or by mail to 180 East Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802. The deadline for all submissions is Jan. 7.
YOUR WORDS @DouglasMcClure, Just read your article in @CaringMagazine. Nicely done! —@rreardondc
Read the new @CaringMagazine yet? #greatstuff. —@FlorisRegouin
Reading @CaringMagazine, which is awesome this quarter! I know ppl who wrote for it this issue, too! Kind of cool! —@LindseyFleeman
&
LIKES
The Salvation Army Augusta Kroc Center is named “Best Thing to Happen to Augusta” for 2011 by the readers of Augusta Magazine. Congrats! A Texas tycoon is offering steep discounts on oil changes to customers who can recite John 3:16. A Long Beach, Calif., church offered a free wedding to any unmarried couples in its congregation who haven’t wed due to costs.
“Present a living and active gospel that is primarily focused on this life and making the Kingdom a reality. If the focus continues to be whether someone is going to heaven or whether people are in church on Sunday, expect the trend to continue.”
—Bill Finley on a recent report from the Pew Research Center that reported younger generations are significantly less likely than older ones to affiliate with a religious tradition.
On the cover: A print made by a veteran during a Combat Paper Project workshop. See story on pg. 27.
Soft power Does The Salvation Army have cultural soft power? By Christin Davis
At its core, soft power succeeds in a state’s ability to bend others to its will without resorting to force or payment. According to the phrase’s creator, Joseph Nye, “Success depends not only on whose army wins, but also on whose story wins.” The Salvation Army is not a political entity, but it Do our values, culture, policies and does have a story to tell. Its mission requires others to identify, connect and participate. institutions drive others to want The currency of soft power is in the values, culture, what we want? policies and institutions of an actor. As Nye says, it’s the ability to attract or repel others to “want what you want.” Do our values, culture, policies and institutions drive others to want what we want? Have we commu1-year terms to form recommendations on how nicated what it is that we want (commonly deduced the government can better partner with relevant today to: “save souls, grow saints, and serve suffering organizations. That would be a place for the Army humanity”)? to strategically exert soft power. By focusing on the currency of our soft power, this This issue, “We the People,” features various Army can further leverage its impact. In connecting ways The Salvation Army interacts with agencies with the government, we can extend our reach and of government around the world, from better preinfluence on the social and religious concerns of this paring for disaster response, to partnering with law country. enforcement for gang intervention in California, to One way we have done this is through a link with the providing humanitarian assistance in Iraq, to a miWhite House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood grant center in Tijuana, to far-reaching service to Partnerships, directed by Joshua DuBois, a Pentecostal veterans in the United States. minister with a master’s degree in international affairs People today are not silent about what they from Princeton. His office coordinates the 12 centers want. for faith-based and community initiatives at various “Can [The Salvation Army] afford to be a nongovernment agencies, including the Department of participant in the public square of the 21st Labor and the Department of Homeland Security, century?” Major Lawrence Shiroma asks which work to support faith-based groups and conon pg. 26. Not if we want people to want nect the government to nonprofits. what we want. “The challenges we’re facing as a country are We know this Salvation Army has influgreater than any one entity can solve alone,” DuBois ence on the well being of humanity; let’s said. “When it comes to feeding hungry people, continue to connect and interact with there is a role for faith-based groups and for govChristin agencies of government—utilizing soft ernment. At some point, faith-based groups may be Davis is the power to attract others to our mission and able to feed every stomach in the country, but until managing to make our story win. w editor of then government has to be involved as well to fulNew Frontier fill our moral mandate to feed the hungry.” Connect with Caring Publications. DuBois’ office also coordinates the president’s twitter @CaringMagazine advisory council on faith-based and neighborfacebook.com/CaringMagazine hood partnerships, a group of 25 leaders who serve email: caring@usw.salvationarmy.org
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
5
RK
O
R
O
W
LD
CU
LT U R E
TH FA I
W
According to a study published by the British Medical Journal, a widely used bike-sharing program in Barcelona prevents 12 deaths a year.
Flood response in Nigeria Following the floods in Nigeria, over 3,000 people were assisted with funds provided through International Emergency Services. Each family received enough food for a month and non-food items including clothes, babywear, wellington boots, slippers and toiletries. A local newspaper reported that the Army “appeared on the scene like a matador and wrestled the bull of deprivation to submission, giving these people a new lease of life.”
Promoting peace The Nobel Peace Prize for 2011 was awarded in October to three women from Africa and the Arab world in acknowledgment of their nonviolent role in promoting peace, democracy and gender equality. The winners were President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia—the first woman to be elected president in modern Africa—her compatriot, the peace
activist Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakul Karman of Yemen, a pro-democracy campaigner. “We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society,” said the citation of the award. Creative Commons Licensed photos courtesy of nobelprize. org.
Laughing until it hurts Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of Oxford, said laughing until it hurts feels good not because of the intellectual pleasure of cerebral humor, but the physical act of laughing. The simple muscular exertions involved, he told The New York Times, trigger an increase in endorphins, the brain chemicals known for their feel-good effect. 6
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
Army flag flies in Togo The first Salvation Army officers appointed to the west African country of Togo arrived in the country in August to begin the work of the Army. Captains Hervé Michel and Naty Dorcas Ahouyanganga, originally from the Congo (Brazzaville) Territory, traveled by road to their new appointment from Accra in Ghana, where they had been preparing for their pioneering ministry. The work in Togo, overseen by the Ghana Territory, officially began in April. Newly elected Citizens of Turkey elected the first Syriac Christian ever to serve in the Turkish parliament. Less than 1 percent of Turkish citizens are Christians, according to Christianity Today. Olympic biking test run The Salvation Army’s Hadleigh Farm, in Essex, UK, hosted an international mountain bike competition in late July—a trial run for when the venue hosts the Olympic mountain biking in August 2012.
Bidding for the Army NBC’s Today Show partnered with The Salvation Army and Ebay to host an online auction, “’Today’s’ Tag Sale.” Auctioned items— Matt Lauer ties, torch carried by Ann Curry at the 2002 Olympic Games, autographed bobble head of Al Roker and more—were donated by NBC anchors and staff and raised $9,551 for Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Centers.
RK O
LD
R
If you’re feeling weighed down by emotional baggage, upload your drama to Emotional Bag Check to get advice from a stranger in the form of a handpicked song to help you cope. Or, pick a song to help someone else. Emotionalbagcheck.com
O
Facebook and Time Warner Inc. launched Stop Bullying: Speak Up Social Pledge App, an interactive social media pledge that enables educators, parents and students to make a personal commitment—and recruit others to join them—to help stop bullying.
W
Protesting immigration law in Alabama An Alabama federal judge upheld core elements of the state’s toughest-in-the-nation immigration law. Alabama’s Catholic, Episcopal and United Methodist bishops jointly filed a lawsuit Aug. 1 against the law, claiming it would result in “irreparable harm” to their church members, making it a “crime to follow God’s commandment to be Good Samaritans.” The lawsuit pointed out that churches would “perpetrate crimes by knowingly providing food, clothing, shelter and transportation to those in need without first ensuring compliance with the stipulations” of the law. U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn ruled that the religious leaders did not have standing to challenge the law, though other groups—including the Obama administration, did.
CU
LT U R E F A I T
H
W
Collecting footage in one day One Day on Earth is an online social network and public video archive of footage from people around the world, taken in one day. The footage from the first day, Oct. 10, 2010, is being edited into a feature film that aims to showcase “the amazing diversity, conflict, tragedy, and triumph that occur in one day.” The project aims to hold a “day on earth” every year, the second on Nov. 11. Watch the trailer at onedayonearth.org.
45.8
million people receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, a 12 percent jump from last year at this time and a 34 percent jump from 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. To qualify for food stamps, a person’s income can’t exceed $14,088 a year. Twentith Century Fox Entertainment, the maker of “Glee,” is donating $1 million to school arts programs across the country.
Community loo CLOO’ (community plus loo with an apostrophe to represent a GPS marker) is a new smartphone app that allows urban dwellers to open their private bathrooms to strangers desperate for a toilet, “solving the problem of too-few easily accessible restrooms.” Watch the “How it Works” video: cloo-app. com.
“Sesame Street” introduced a new Muppet character named Lily, a 7-year-old girl representing one of the 17 million American children that the Department of Agriculture estimates are “food insecure,” meaning their access to food is limited or uncertain. WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
7
RK
O
R
O
W
LD
CU
LT U R E
TH FA I
W
Bible collection Steve Green, president of Hobby Lobby, first bought a biblical manuscript at an auction in 2009. He now has Photos courtesy of more than 40,000 The Green Collecbiblical manuscripts tion.[see more: deand artifacts in the mossnews.com/greGreen Collection. encollection/photos/ A b o u t 3 0 0 of its the_green_collection_photo_gallery/] most notable items—
including the Codex Climaci Rescriptus, one of the oldest near-complete Bibles in the world, in Palestinian Aramaic—were recently on display at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, and is now traveling to Atlanta, the Vatican, and New York. The New York Times cited a valuation of Green’s collection between $20-40 million. Green told Christianity Today his favorite piece is the 1782 Aitken Bible, which the U.S. Congress endorsed; it became the first English Bible printed in North America.
89 percent of American households still own a Bible, with the average home having 4.1 Bibles, according to a recent poll from LifeWay Research.
Daily readings Major Beverly Ivany is the new author of Words of Life, a book of daily devotional readings produced by The Salvation Army internationally. Each daily reading includes a portion of Scripture and a short devotional
thought, covering every book of the Bible over the next three years. “ T h e p u r p o s e o f Wo r d s of Life is to inspire and encourage Christians through Scripture,”Ivany said. “The readings are not cumbersome. They’re simply an opportunity for people to get into the habit of starting their day with God. “The benefit of it being an international publication is that on any given day, you know that other Salvationists and Christians are reading the same words as you and sharing in that intimate way with God. That connects and unifies us.”
General Linda Bond invites The Salvation Army to a weekly 30 -minute international prayer meeting each Thursday, and encourages people around the world to pray for the Army and its mission priorities. 8
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
Friends with Jesus Jesus’ Facebook page has a more highly engaged audience than that of Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian. Dr. Aaron Tabor created the page, “Jesus Daily” in 2009, with the goal of promoting a diet book he had written. However, the page has since turned into a forum that features biblical quotes, prayers and reflections on Jesus. The page currently has 8.7 million “Likes.” Visit facebook.com/ JesusDaily.
Seminary behind bars Texas state prison inmates can now attend a four-year seminary program sponsored by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and the Heart of Texas Foundation while behind bars. The first session began in August with 40 inmates, working toward a bachelor’s of science degree in biblical studies to eventually serve other inmates.
(IndeOnline.com)
Clothes for work Working Clothing Closet, a program of The Salvation Army in Massillon, Ohio, is providing eligible local residents with three professional outfits, shoes and accessories in an effort to build the confidence necessary for landing a job.
Food for fines Throughout the first week of October, library patrons exchanged a can of food for $1 of overdue book fines at the Linebaugh Public Library System Food for Fines week in Tennessee. As long as the can was within its expiration date, there was no limit to the number of cans allowed. All cans will go to support the ministries of both The Salvation Army and The La Vergne Food Bank.
Holiday honor The Salvation Army Coeur d’Alene Kroc Center was asked to create the ornaments for the Idaho Tree in Washington D.C. this Christmas. Students will create the ornaments under the direction of an Idaho artist as an art project at the Kroc Center. In Baldwin County, Ala., Operation ROC: Restore Our Community aims to allow some first-time, non-violent offenders to go to church rather than jail. Fifty-six churches have agreed to take part in the program, in which pastors monitor attendance of offenders at church services.
RK O
LD
R
Photo by Glenn B. Dettman
O
their jobs and provide a stable home for their families, and that often starts with reliable transportation,” said Lt. Col. Ralph Bukiewicz, commander of The Salvation Army Metropolitan Division. “This program also offers an alternative to predatory lenders who charge exorbitantly high interest rates that only push families further into debt.”
W
Repairing bad credit The Salvation Army of Chicago partnered with Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois in launching Ways to Work, which offers low-interest loans to low-income working parents with bad credit. The program enables struggling parents to buy or repair used cars. “With as many as one in six Americans living in poverty, we need to do everything we can to help parents hold down
CU
LT U R E F A I T
H
W
A new Salvation Army store in Southeast Portland includes the first in-store café, which offers free wifi and serves direct-trade “Brewing Hope” coffee (featured in Caring, spring 2011).
Nonprofit concern Commissioner William Roberts, national commander of The Salvation Army in the U.S., signed an Independent Sector letter to the president and congressional leaders along with many other nonprofit leaders. It expressed concern about the impact of proposed deficit reduction solutions and voiced objection to the proposed cap on the value of charitable deduction for certain taxpayers. Watch the Cal State University Long Beach Alpha Phi Omega’s volunteer spotlight mini-documentary at the Long Beach Corps’ food pantry: youtu.be/N9cpQAhrMSs. WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
9
Susan Burton
was dressed in relaxed clothing and armed with a big, genuine smile when we first met at her reentry home in California. Her friendly demeanor concealed the pain and struggle she has endured in her life. In 1981, her 5-year-old son was accidentally hit and killed by a car. Unable to cope with her immense grief, Burton used drugs to numb her pain. After serving six prison terms for drug offenses, she found sobriety with the help of a 12-step program. In 1997, Burton made the decision to help others like her by creating A New Way of Life Reentry Project. Based in Los Angeles, the program has helped more than 600 just released female offenders reclaim life. It also earned Burton a CNN Hero Award in 2010. Caring sat down with Burton to learn more about her journey and what she’s doing to help these women.
What was most difficult for you upon release from prison? You’re given $200 and put on a bus back to your county—in my case Los Angeles county, downtown skid row— and you try to make it from there with no ID, no social security card, no clothing, no shelter, no anything. The family environment was not a healthy one for me. When you return home, you’re faced with the same set of circumstances and dysfunction. So you might stay with a friend or bunk up somewhere for a while, but nothing is stable, safe or inspiring. Connect with Susan
Susan Burton in the backyard of one of her reentry homes in Watts, Calif.
website: anewwayoflife.org email: susan@anewwayoflife.org Photo by Erica Andrews 10
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
Finding a
new way
Helping female offenders reclaim life By Erica Andrews
Is that what prompted you to create A New Way of Life? I figured there was a need in south LA for women to have a place to come back to. I experienced it in other communities, but I had been in and out of prisons for almost two decades trying to find a place in our community that was safe, and so I thought, ‘I’ll create it.’ After working, saving, envisioning and learning all about the community…I started in the house down the street. How did you initially tell women about this program? There’s a culture and a connection among formerly incarcerated people that just lives. I began to reach out, write letters and visit parole offices. As I was moving about the community, I would see people and say, ‘you don’t have to be homeless, I have a home here and you can come and stay and we can just live together, be responsible together and recover together.’ What kind of services do you offer at A New Way of Life? We have a partnership with UCLA law school to help the women clear up their criminal histories. We also have activities, resources for school, resources for transportation, resources for jobs and most of all a safe place where you don’t feel like you’re in danger. You’ve now expanded to five houses in Los Angeles and can support up to 22 women at a time. Do you plan on taking
Erica Andrews is the assistant editor for Caring.
the program nationwide? That is one of the goals and one of the big picture things of what I want to do. I’d like to help people create reentry projects in their respective neighborhoods to welcome people back [from incarceration]. I’ll be going over to Tucson, Ariz., soon because one of the women who contacted me [about starting a reentry house] followed through and followed up. She’s dynamic and she’s sticking to it, as a matter of fact I’m speaking at a dinner soon to help her raise money. Do you receive most of your funding through donations? The funding comes through donations, contracts and grants, so there’s a variety of ways that we support our organization. It’s hard, though, because times are bad—it’s hard. During difficult times, what motivates you to continue? Every woman here has something different that I love and admire about her. I think I’ve been given this gift, that when I see someone, I sort of see into them. I connect into them and that connection allows me to stay the course with this work and connect in a personal and intimate way with people. I think that has a lot to do with what keeps me focused—that sort of connection. w
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
11
Time is money Exchange model equalizes value and matches needs By Alma Bahman
Remember what society was like before
currency? A time bank, or time exchange, is a real life community that uses time instead of money. Time exchange sustains on relationships between community members by connecting people with needs to people with the resources to fill those needs. But instead of paper money, members are paid in “time dollars.” By giving one hour of time, members earn one time dollar that they can spend on other skills in the community—exchanging, for example, two hours of babysitting for two hours of graphic design work or tailoring. A web-based software, Community Weaver, allows members to post services they offer as well as those they need, providing an opportunity to spend and earn time dollars, which function like money but are not physical currency. “People get stuck because they don’t know what they can offer,” said Christine Petit, co-founder of the Long Beach Time Exchange (LBTE) in California, which launched in September 2010 and now has more than 160 members. “But the marketplace shows what needs have to be filled.” Although people may be able to give more or need to receive more at various points in his/her life, a zero balance—meaning even exchange—is ideal in the long run. “We encourage new members to ‘shop the network’ before they’ve even earned time dollars,” Petit said. “There’s no such thing as ‘debt’ in a traditional sense in time banking.” Core values Edga r C a hn developed t h e system of a time bank and founded TimeBanks USA. An established lawyer and academic, C a h n c re a t e d t i m e b a n k i n g
Alma Bahman is a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Photo by Angie Leek
12
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
Community members learn more about time banking through a “circle of giving” exercise.
to address government cuts to social programs while empowering the disenfranchised that suffered most. There are time exchanges in all 50 states, in 22 countries and six continents. LBTE is a localized subsector of TimeBanks USA. On its website, TimeBanks USA values five core concepts that a time exchange represents: assets, meaning everyone is valuable; redefining work, which places
value on building families, communities and society as a whole; reciprocity, opening a two-way street by helping others to help yourself; social network, which emphasizes the importance of relationships; and respect. So how can an organization like The Salvation Army—that relies on volunteerism—apply the time exchange model and these values? Petit said it’s about showing that everyone has value and incorporating people in a broad sense.
Each ARC, or other Army program, could tailor the time exchange to meet its individual clientele’s needs. The essential idea is to restore a sense of dignity and eliminate the one-way street between the haves and the have-nots, Petit said. Those in jobs that sustain our society like childcare, civic participation and volunteering, make little or less than other jobs that don’t necessarily sustain a community, she said. A time exchange works as a complement to benefit people left out of the current economic structure, including the unemployed. “People are often defined by their jobs,” Petit said. “People feel like society might treat them like they have nothing to contribute.” But the time exchange model fills needs they may not have the money for. People who aren’t strapped for cash can explore hobbies and other passions. At its core, a time exchange strengthens the smaller unit of community and “recognizes what people do to shape society,” Petit said. w
To give and receive By Gloria Cannon
For example, the clients—as well as volunteers and Army members—at Adult Rehabilitation Centers (ARC) could earn time dollars for their participation. In exchange for every hour of distributing food, cleaning, helping rebuild a resume, and so on, a time dollar is earned. Then, those time dollars could be spent for a ride to a job interview or anything else a volunteer or client might need.
I first learned about the concept of time banking at a community event exploring examples of gift economies and felt connected to the idea. At the time, I volunteered for several community organizations and soon found myself contributing hundreds of hours. While feeling fulfilled with my contributions to the organizations and their projects, the Long Beach Time Exchange (LBTE) provided a structure to help meet some of my own needs. I received haircut and color services from another LBTE member, and in exchange provided email marketing services for her business that have generated revenue for her. While one-to-one exchanges are not required, this worked for us as we both needed what the other had to offer. I’ve also received massages, offered my time on community garden projects, and have provided childcare services. Within this system, I’ve donated my time dollars to others in need. For example, one member broke her ankle and needed hours for assistance with community events she was planning. I also donated hours to a member so she could receive childcare though the time bank. Time banking is an example of community and others helping others. I am honored to have played a small role in its development and to be a member. In fact, I will be moving from Long Beach in the near future and plan to introduce the model in my new home. w
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
13
“Nice tattoo,” I heard over
Joining the ranks A practical battle plan to gang outreach By Matthew Jensen
14
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
my shoulder. He was one of the people helping out in our daily food line, trading jail time for community service at our facility. Turning, I noticed he was tatted on both arms. Faded ink most likely from a guitar string done in a garage or behind bars. “Thanks brother,” I responded. “I see you got some work yourself. Can I see?” We had found common ground, and the relationship began to take root. My friend turned out to be a high-ranking leader in one of the Santa Maria, Calif., gangs. After a few meetings with him, he confided in me that he wanted to get out of the gang. He said that the last time he left prison, his 12-year-old daughter sat on his lap in tears and told him that she wants a daddy like her friends have. She told him that Jesus loves even him, but that a change of life was his decision. He had committed to slowly edging out of the gang from that point, but realized that it was going to be a rough road. Intel gathering and battle assessment It wasn’t long before I was able to see how the locals respected and feared him. Being able to name my price at any tattoo shop in town after mentioning his name gave some credibility to his story. He dropped names to me of other leaders in local gangs, and explained the heavy involvement of the drug trade, prostitution, turf Lt. Matthew wars, and the violent cost of it all. Two Jensen is the main gangs, North West and West Park, assistant corps officer, with his run the show. Many of the popular Los wife, Vanessa, at Angeles gangs are also here in smaller the Santa Maria numbers and have been trying to get Corps in Santa a foothold lately, including 18th Street Maria, Calif. and MS-13. Photo by Vanessa Jensen
A few days later, I met with the police sergeant who runs Santa Maria’s gang suppression unit. The sergeant confirmed all that I had heard on the streets, and explained to me the major thread of mafia involvement weaved within the violent and diverse fabric of predominately Sureño-driven gang wars—a group of Mexican American street gangs with origins in the oldest barrios of Southern California. Voicing frustration that budget cuts had prevented the police from doing any kind of gang outreach, he said that all they can do is make arrests after a crime has been committed. Despite his pleadings, he had yet to find anyone willing to partner with them in gang outreach. I told him that I was his man and that The Salvation Army wanted to help; we’ve been cultivating a productive relationship since. One of the projects that we’re moving forward with is to develop an anti-gang video with interviews from some of his contacts behind bars and mine on the streets. This video can be shown at the local schools, so students get a raw picture of the reality behind the groups that promise to give them belonging, acceptance and love. We believe this will be more effective than an officer standing in front of a school chalkboard saying, “Gangs are bad, kiddos.” On the street level, I’m networking through the gang ranks. My angle is that I’m neutral and am there to serve as their pastor and social services representative. I’m finding that this approach is taking me as deep as I’m comfortable going, all the while gaining their respect and appreciation. I’m convinced that God’s hand is in this; too many awesome and crazy things are happening for his hand not to be. “So what, preacher? So what?” In a recent conference on the link between street gangs and human trafficking, Dr. Laura J. Lederer noted that gangs commit 80 percent of crime within most U.S. urban communities. Lederer said gangs are the primary retaillevel distributors of most illicit drugs, and that overall gang activity is measurably on the rise. Whether we like it or not, gang activity is an issue that’s going to become even more prevalent in the coming years than it is now. It’s time to start having an honest discussion about productive gang outreach. Based on what I’ve seen work and have been personally implementing, this is what I propose:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Use networking skills to go deeper into the local gang leadership (Deut. 31:6). Intentionally develop friendships with as many as possible from step one (Luke 7:34). Collaborate and mediate direct services to those within the gangs who need it (whether it’s within The Salvation Army or an outside agency), and thereby develop respect and confidence within the subculture (Matt. 5:16). Slowly integrate evangelistic strategies into the contacts, once their respect and confidence is gained (1 Cor. 9:23). Start back at step one (1 John 4:11-12).
William Booth said he’d fight didn’t he? We plaster that beautiful quote on T-shirts, cups, and plaques. It echoes the spirit of this great Army’s foundation—to fight for the lost with even greater passion than the devil is using to take them away from the Lord. From every fight I’ve been involved in, I’ve come out with marks; trophies of my confrontation with battle. Of course, this battle of gang outreach is going to get messy at times. If it didn’t, we should ask ourselves why the devil doesn’t consider us worthy to fight against. The truth is that men and women, boys and girls, are getting sucked into the gang life in search of belonging and a sense of self worth. It’s our holy duty to reach out to them, no matter the cost. It’s about “others,” remember? Toughen up, saints; remember your uniform represents battle, and let’s reach out to a demographic so many flee from in timidity. Following the steps I’ve listed, let’s live the Great Commission with the same raw and authentic Christian passion of the disciples. If the Lord is for us, who can stand against us? The battle is laid out, the plans are drawn, and your spot on the frontlines is reserved. Will you fight alongside me? Lost souls are waiting for your answer. w
“
Here is the principle— adapt your measures to the necessity of the people to whom you minister. You are to take the Gospel to them in such modes and circumstances as will gain for it from them a hearing. – Catherine Booth, Co-Founder, The Salvation Army
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
15
SEND ME Why I volunteered for a second wartime deployment By Jason M. Hale
I volunteered to join the Army National Guard in June 2006. I was 29 years old. I remember my family’s reaction when I told them that I had joined the military. I received blank stares of disbelief and probably the worst heart-wrenching look a mother can give a son. We were a nation in the middle of two wars, one of which was going horribly wrong. Death tolls in Iraq were mounting at an alarming rate and support for the war had evaporated. My family couldn’t believe that I would soon be one of those soldiers serving on the front lines 7,000 miles away in the global war on terror. In 2007, I made it through the Army’s Infantry and Airborne School, beginning my military career as a paratrooper. With “the surge” starting that summer, my call to duty came quickly. I was pulled from my airborne unit and sent to Ramadi, Iraq, with the 1-125 Infantry Battalion. Ramadi had seen some of the worst fighting
16
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
Jason Hale with local kids during a foot patrol in a village near Ramadi, Iraq.
in the war, but I was shocked at how different the experience was from what I had seen in the media. With my own “boots on the ground,” I worked with people and organizations back home that sent us school supplies, stuffed animals and other things to give to the Iraqi children while we patrolled the streets and villages, searching daily for Al-Qaeda and insurgents. We had tremendous success working with the local Iraqis and I saw many seeds of hope not only planted, but also begin to spring up during our time there as we built friendships with the families and soldiers of Iraq. We arrived back in America at the end of 2008 and I returned to my civilian life working at The Salvation Army’s divisional headquarters near Detroit. To say it was a difficult
transition going from soldier to citizen would be the when it was time for the mission, all of our different ultimate understatement. We had just spent nine views where gone and our focus became, “I’ll keep you months in a combat zone, where we rolled outside alive, and you keep me alive.” It forms a bond that can the wire every day armed with enough weapons and never be broken. Ever. firepower to fight off just about anything the enemy It’s that bond that has brought me to this moment. could try and throw our way. Being a paratrooper, I Although not everyone will see the reasons for us love excitement and adventure, but the intensity and being at war, for this soldier, there is something more adrenaline rush that we felt each time we went on at stake. It’s the soldier to my left and my right. It’s patrol, looking for people that wanted to kill us, is an the soldier who’s watching my back as I watch his. experience all to itself. Now I was safely back home It’s the chance to serve this band of brothers in a way and my daily decisions weren’t going to be ones with that very few people ever get to experience. We each consequences of life and death, but were simple and declare, “Your life is more valuable than my own.” seemed somewhat trivial. I realized that most of our And we mean it. Many of the guys in my unit didn’t decisions in America are based on how we are going to need to deploy this time around; their commitment entertain ourselves—which restaurant did I want to go to the military was up. I happened to be one of those to or what movie did I want to see. Quite a difference soldiers. But when faced with the choice of “do I stay from a soldier’s life overseas. or do I go,” there really was only one answer I could I was thankful to be home, but struggling with give. Here am I, send me. guilt about how good we have it here in America I signed a one-year extension and volunteered for compared to our soldiers on the front lines. I knew Afghanistan. I could not let my brothers go and fight that I should be enjoying this lifestyle because of those as I stayed behind in comfort. I’m not perfect and I who are willing to give up “the good life” to put on the may not be the best person for the job, but I’m willing uniform, but that good life now seemed hollow as I and honored. Is there anything better than a chance thought of those still serving overseas—many of them to serve someone other than ourselves? None that I’ve sleeping on a cot, working 12-hour shifts seven days found. w a week, missing birthdays, anniversaries and family gatherings during this last decade of war. This has been the life of the American soldier since 9/11. I now knew it firsthand. My family has been involved with The Salvation Army for three generations and during my time in the military, I discovered how similar The Salvation Army is to the armed forces. Marching orders, corps, captains and majors are terms that the two share, but it’s in the heartbeat of the soldiers of each organization where you’ll find the greatest similarity and purpose. For good soldiers, there’s one thing that motivates them greater than any speech, any obstacle or any challenge—it’s their willingness to lay down their life for their fellow brothers. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). While in Iraq, we all had different Cpl. Jason M. Hale serves in the U.S. Army National Guard as an Airborne, Air Assault, views, so we’d argue and debate with Pathfinder and Sniper qualified soldier. He each other like we were standing is currently preparing for his deployment to on the floor of the U.S. Senate—but Afghanistan as a senior sniper. Connect with Jason facebook.com/jason.m.hale Photos by Spc. Sean Patterson and Cpl. Victor Perez WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
17
Direct Intervention
An anti-trafficking report out of Mexico as The Salvation Army moves toward direct care. By Sallyann Hood
18
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
On
the way from Tijuana to divisional headquarters in Chihuahua, “Capitana” Ofelia Vargas and a carload of conference representatives stopped for a break. Vargas found three girls in the bathroom, huddled together, crying. The girls had been falsely promised “good jobs” in Mexico City. One immediately went with Vargas; the other two returned to a vehicle with two men who watched silently as Vargas put the rescued girl into her van. Local authorities returned the girl to her home, some distance away, and rescued the other two girls using the car’s license plate number. Involving Mexican authorities can be risky, as police and military officers are sometimes intimately involved in the trafficking process themselves. The Salvation Army in Mexico has, For more inup to this point, emphasized educaformation and tion and prevention in relation to resources on antiour work in anti-trafficking, but such trafficking from “exposure” to trafficked persons puts The Salvation us into a different realm. We continue Army, visit traffickingprayerandto work on education and prevention fasting.org. in anti-trafficking, but we are now adding direct care. Commissioner David Bringans, territorial commander in Mexico, asked that a guide be developed for officers to help them provide “direct care” in the safest way possible. In Tapachula, far to the south, “Mayora” Victoria Ortiz tries to help reduce trafficking by visiting the “cantina” next door to the street children’s home she runs. Ortiz aims to persuade young girls—often trafficked from Guatemala—to come with her to safety. She promises to help the girls re-create their paperwork, so that they can return home and lets each one know that they can stay with her in the street children’s home. Sadly, the girls often refuse because they are afraid not only for themselves, but for their families in Guatemala. The “arms” of the organized criminal organizations are far-reaching and threats are a well-known method used to subdue victims of trafficking. The girls who are willing to speak to Ortiz will also say that it is no use to go back, as their families simply cannot
Salvation Army officers tend to be somewhat isolated in Mexico and can be vulnerable to retribution. Yet, the Army will transition into direct care for trafficking victims.
afford to have them. The Mexican drug cartels are heavily involved in trafficking, a big moneymaker, especially because you can sell a person multiple times but a drug only once. We are aware that Salvation Army officers tend to be somewhat isolated in Mexico in their assignments and can be extremely vulnerable to retribution. Yet, the Army will now slowly transition into direct care for trafficking victims as it is needed. “Capitana” Alma Rodriguez, assistant territorial finance secretary, formerly stationed in the nowfamous “Ciudad Juarez,” and “Capitana” Angeles Limon, assistant at the School for Officer’s Training in Mexico, recently attended meetings of a newly formed Federal Commission to formulate a federal law in relation to trafficking (instead of multiple state laws that may be in conflict). Many say, however, that Mexico’s problem is not that they don’t have laws, but that they are not enforced. Despite overwhelming odds, officers in Mexico are working hard to educate, prevent, and now work directly with this issue. It is encouraging that more recently we are working alongside governmental organizations and with representatives in the priMajor Sallyann C. vate sector. But this is not Hood, M.D., is the a battle that will be won territorial secretary of social services, direcby only well-meaning ortor of The Salvation ganizations; God will only Army’s Mental Health ultimately win it—and we Clinic and leads need your prayers! w the territorial Team Against the Trafficking and Exploitation of Persons in Mexico.
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
19
20
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
At work in a Baja California hot spot Captains Vargas are the face of the Army, preventing trafficking of persons in Tijuana. By Christin Davis
Captains Erasmus and Ofelia Vargas are Salvation Army officers assigned to Tijuana, Mexico, the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula with 1.8 million people as of the 2010 census. For the Vargases, it is the arena to fulfill a calling to service. “About 20 years ago, we had a bad experience in our lives that changed our stability, including the loss of our home and other means,” Ofelia Vargas said. “A member of our extended family is part of The Salvation Army. He presented us to God, whose love and Word introduced us to social services. We knew we had to help those who were suffering.” And they are in the right place to do so. Tijuana—sometimes referred to as the “Bangkok of Latin America”—is the most visited border city in the world as over 50 million people cross between Tijuana and San Diego each year. Here, The Salvation Army, via the Vargases, operates a corps, two outposts and three social services programs—a Migrant Center, the La Gloria Extended-Hours Day Care Center, and a Battered Women’s Shelter in Ensenada—aiming to prevent human trafficking and protect women from abuse. Mexico is a large source, transit and destination country for human trafficking, according to the U.S. State Department’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) 2011 report. To make matters worse, public fear of criminal organizations—many of which are involved in trafficking—impedes the ability of government and civil society to effectively combat trafficking. Worse still, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and government representatives report that some law enforcement officials tolerate and are sometimes complicit in trafficking, impeding implementation of anti-trafficking statutes. Yet, the country is taking steps to eradicate this abuse of people. In 2007, the Mexican government enacted federal legislation to prohibit all forms of human trafficking. In 2010, the country achieved its first conviction and sentencing for forced labor and sentenced four trafficking offenders with four to 17 years imprisonment. It also passed a national anti-trafficking action plan and designated $4.2 million to implement it in 2011. With funding from a foreign government, authorities launched a beta version of a website to track trafficking cases and legislation in Mexico. The Vargases began volunteering with The Salvation Army in Mexico City. They later became auxiliary captains and then were commissioned as captains in 2004, the same year as their daughter. The couple served for 15 years in Mexico City and have now been stationed in Tijuana since 2006. They have adopted six children and have three of their own. The Salvation Army’s Tijuana Corps sits on a back street within
walking distance of the U.S./Mexico border. Run by the Vargases, the corps has roughly 70 members but the facility is more commonly known in the community as the Migrant Center, which opened in 1957. Here, roughly 200 recently deported and homeless men have a place to eat dinner, take a shower, receive support and make international calls as they transition to self-sufficiency—all for 15 pesos ($1.10 USD) a night if they can afford it; as long as there is still space, no one is turned away. The center has two large rooms that are lined with bunk beds. To sleep more people, carpeting is laid down at night anywhere possible—including in the dining room and bathrooms. In the busiest times, such as the winter, an old school bus outside can sleep an additional 30 men. Because it’s illegal in Tijuana to be a transient on the street, the bus also serves as a waiting room until the center’s doors open at 4 p.m. “If you look dirty, the police will arrest you,” Vargas said. “If they don’t know what you’re doing, they think it’s better to haul you off, sometimes for a couple days.” The program operates on $50,000 a year, $9,000 of which is provided by the Mexican government. The Vargases are currently looking for donations to replace the center’s mattresses. “The idea is to help men who come back across the border to be literally less stranded,” said Major Sallyann Hood, territorial social services secretary in Mexico. “They sometimes want to stay close to the border because family members are still in the U.S. Our goal is to help the men anyway we can.” Ruben, 35, was deported from Compton, Calif., where he had lived for 13 years with his family. He worked construction, taking electrical and plumbing day jobs, when outstanding tickets turned into a warrant, he was eventually deported. New to Tijuana, Ruben went looking for work and was shot at. Released from the local clinic, the police dropped him off at the Migrant Center, his bullet graze
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
21
wounds still bandaged. Ruben sat down in a muted Hawaiian shirt with palm trees reminiscent of his Southern California past—its subdued colors matching the gloom in his eyes. “I plan to stay close so it’s possible to see my kids [now 9 and 7],” Ruben said. “If I can’t go back, at least they’re able to come visit. The people here are open and healing. They’re willing to help me transition and helping me figure out the next step.” Alejandro, 36, was similarly deported after a runin with authorities, declaring himself a former Tokers Town gang member from Here, roughly 200 recently Fullerton, Calif. “I’m here because I deported and homeless men messed up,” said Alejanhave a place to eat dinner, dro, who was taken to the as a 1-year-old child take a shower, receive sup- U.S. and eventually graduport and make international ated from high school in Southern California. “I uncalls as they transition to derstand the laws; I had a chance. self-sufficiency. “This place is here to help if you want to help yourself,” he said. Deported in January 2005, Alejandro utilized the services of the Migrant Center and is now one of its employees, functioning much of the time like its crowd-control bouncer. “This shelter made me want to help others like me. There is a lot of hope in this house. It’s up to you and what you want to do with it. The Vargases are my main supporters now.” Tears dropped down Alejandro’s face as he explained that his kids—seven in total, ages 3 to 16—now allow him to talk to them after six years of no communication. “I’m still a hard core fool inside, but it’s different now,” said Alejandro, who was known on the streets as “Big Demon.” “I’m a different man.” A short drive from the Migrant Center, on a road just below numerous facilities and factories of multinational conglomerate companies up in the hills, leads you to La Gloria—a sector of Tijuana and the name of another program the Vargases oversee.
22
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
It was lunchtime as a van full of kids from the first school session of the day arrived and joined the other kids waiting in line to wash their hands before eating. One boy, no older than 2, squealed as half of a homemade tamale was placed in front of him. The La Gloria Extended-Hours Day Care Center came about after cases of kidnapping and child trafficking in the area left parents worried about leaving their children at home while they went to work. Now in operation for three years, this center is open during the week from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. and provides 30 kids—newborn to 10 years—with three meals a day, transportation to and from the half-day sessions of school, and a positive place to be. “We knew there had to be a safe place for kids to go and have a sense of security, that they are not home by themselves or on the streets,” Vargas said. As they eat, it’s clear the children are content, happy and secure. Margareita, 9, has been coming to the center since it opened in 2008. She said she loves it, and appreciates that the staff helps her with homework. Another child, Dianali, 5, enjoys the computer classes and the Barney and princess toys. The facility resembles a single-family home, with an outdoor yard, swing sets and playground toys. The cement walls surrounding the center are colorful and bright—a stark contrast to the streets outside. The walls were low, so the Army added chicken wire to raise the height and prevent easy access in fear of theft or kidnapping. Parents must prove that they are working, cannot leave children longer than 10 straight hours, and pay 300 pesos ($22.30) per week for the care. Vargas said most of these moms make 800-1,220 pesos ($60-90) a week. A small number of scholarships are provided to those who cannot afford to contribute. “A portion of the program is focused on awareness,” Hood said. “The staff holds meetings with
“
The day care staff have been keen to educate the children, their parents and the community at large about the dangers of trafficking, equipping them with the right tools to put an end to this crime that has characterized the city of Tijuana for far too long. – Lindsey Bailey
nior Soldier Camp. The Canada and Bermuda Territory purchased the La Gloria Day Care Center property and provided support for three years, with additional assistance from the Vista Hermosa Foundation via The Salvation Army World Service Office (SAWSO). In 2010, the Australia Southern Territory gave the center $300,000 for a new building and support during the next five years, along with furniture provided by the USA Western Territory’s women’s ministries department. Final plans for the new building, which will allow space for an additional 10-20 kids, are under review. Hood said they are now working on decreasing support to transition the program to independence in the next five years. “This is a practical, community appropriate prevention project that has increased the community’s knowledge on trafficking and therefore decreased child trafficking in La Gloria,” said Lindsey Bailey, SAWSO anti-human trafficking program manager. “The day care staff have been keen to educate the children, their parents and the community at large about the dangers of trafficking, equipping them with the right tools to put an end to this crime that has characterized the city of Tijuana for far too long. parents and non-parents to educate people “This project is a great example of The Salvation Army using it’s strengths to about trafficking. They also teach the kids selfmeet the needs of the people in the local community and will serve as a model worth—that ‘just because I’m a girl doesn’t make for other territories hoping to engage in the prevention of human trafficking,” me less valuable,’ that ‘boys do cry’ and that Bailey said. ‘nobody has the right to hit me.’” She said the The Vargases also opened a shelter for abused women in Ensenada. It houses center is currently developing a plan with the up to 10 women and their children, providing family therapy and basic needs. community for safe houses—local homes chil“Mexican officers work very hard under very difficult circumstances,” Hood dren know they can go to if they feel unsafe or said, “The Vargases just don’t give up. If someone says there is no money, they threatened when they’re in the community. find it. For example, they started a bazaar in the driveway of the corps to earn Vargas also has a relationship with the local support money for the Migrant Center. government, and serves as one of its spokes“They have already extended a year beyond retirement, and they plan to ask people against human trafficking. Led by Ana again to extend,” Hood said. “They are so enthusiastic.” Quintero, the center has five staff members and The Vargases know they have accomplished much for the people of Baja Calia number of volunteers. Quintero offornia, but say they are not comfortable talking about themselves. ten individually counsels the parents, “We are always asking God for wisdom to not only do what he’s Christin and opens the facility on Sundays as Davis is the asked of us, but beyond that,” Vargas said. “He’s given us a lot of sata Salvation Army outpost. This past managing isfaction in our work. The Salvation Army is our life. Everything we May, a number of children from the editor of do, we do it wholeheartedly.” w outpost traveled to Mazatlan for JuNew Frontier Publications.
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
23
Reducing disasters of tomorrow EnviRenew’s framework for resilience. By Ethan Frizzell
W
hen a family holds its history in hand and with thanksgiving expresses hope for new beginnings, our hearts break. Such has been the case around the country and around the world this past year. The Salvation Army, as a leader in disaster response, purposefully listens to the stories of despair and shares prayers of expectation of God’s grace. Disaster is an impetus that calls and brings forth capital that allows us to fight for social justice through long-term recovery toward resilience, and FedEx joined as a corporate leader in this fight. “While I have always had the utmost respect and admiration for the organization and its work in the disaster response field, I had not seen the organization so much as the amazingly creative and innovative organization that it is,” said Shane O’Connor, FedEx global citizenship program advisor. “We have been looking for ways to expand our disaster recovery work into the long-term recovery space. Until recently, it has been difficult to find ways where FedEx can focus our resources to really make a difference.” FedEx supported The Salvation Army with funding for a national dialogue with an impressive expert panel that worked throughout the summer “to create a compelling, actionable, and inclusive process for sustainable community resilience and recovery.” The panel included representatives from The Salvation Army’s USA
24
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
Returning residents celebrate an historic effort to rebuild a resilient community in Pontchartrain Park, New Orleans.
Southern and Western Territories, the U.S. Green Building Council, the U.S. Chamber Business Civic Leadership Center, professors and students from Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Graduate School of Design, students from MIT, representatives from the City of San Francisco, and BNIM—one of America’s leading architects, whose firm won the 2011 American Institute of Architects National Architecture Firm Award. “What is the call of The Salvation Army in this ministry space? Resilience,” said Doug Ahlers, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. “Resilience is the capacity of a system to be able to prevent, withstand, absorb, adapt to, or bounce back from shock— whether the shock is sudden, evolving or cascading. It is, in part, reaching a point where a community is able to mitigate, absorb and manage its vulnerabilities.” The Salvation Army helps people bounce back every day. It is our hope and expectation by faith, service delivery by experience, and tenacity by cul-
ture that calls forth leadership in complex resilience social schemes that mirror our history. This national dialogue and resilience social scheme includes concentration on the social, economic and environmental impact of individuals, communities and regions. Interns from Harvard and MIT served in Washington, New Orleans, and San Francisco this summer. Each organization in the dialogue hosted one of 10 weekly web conferences, using iPads courtesy of FedEx, to maximize the networks and knowledge of each location. The speed of collaborative knowledge development, through technology and social capital brought actionable key principles and summary considerations that each entity must consider— the EnviRenew Resilience Framework. “What made our meeting so exciting, beyond experiencing the incredible energy of nationally recognized top thinkers and doers, was the outstanding quality of the ideas discussed,” O’Connor said. While the EnviRenew Resilience Framework is currently a consideration for policy makers, the practitioners of recovery continue to innovate the gained knowledge into solutions. The framework is useful for teaching, advocacy and implementation. It is being shared in lectures concerning community capacity building, economic stabilization and environmental stewardship.
It is our hope and expectat i o n by faith, service delivery by experience, and tenacity by culture that calls forth leadership in complex resilie nc e s oc ia l s c he m e s t h at m ir ror our history. The day is before us when an entire division can accept a resilience platform with integrated disaster services, social services and corps services. We pray and fight to be an instigator in reducing the disasters of tomorrow. w Major Ethan Frizzell is the area coordinator and corps officer in Bradenton, Fla.
Connect with EnviRenew twitter @envirenew facebook.com/envirenew website: envirenew.org Photo courtesy of EnviRenew
Read Jimmy Wayne’s Heartwarming New Book—Available Now!
PA P E R A N G E L S
WHEN JIMMY WAS A BOY, he experienced the kindness of a stranger through the Salvation Army Angel Tree program. Now he brings that story to life in this book about a man and a boy one December. A man whose life is changed by a simple expression of kindness, and a boy who takes that expression of kindness and shows the true spirit of the season.
pages.simonandschuster.com/paperangels WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
25
In the public square Following Christ By Lawrence Shiroma
T
Can the Army in America afford to be morally neutral in the public square of the 21st Century?
he arena in which our moral and political battles are fought is known as “the public square.” Can we afford to be a non-participant in the public square of the 21st century? Richard John Neuhaus, in his book, The Naked Public Square, warns that religion is already excluded from the public square through the ideology of secularism and is manifested within the church today. In Social Work & Christianity, Mark Chavez states that church and denominational leaders society if necessary. It is one of our strengths, one of our privilegshould not influence government decisions but es as Christ followers to take a stand opposite that of the world, rather be supportive whenever possible. opposite of any darkness (Eph. 6:12). Martin Luther King Jr. declared in his “LetAt times, however, we have remained silent. General Shaw ter from a Birmingham City Jail,” that a “just Clifton (Ret.) wrote that during World War II, Salvationist politilaw is a man-made code that squares with the cal and moral neutrality was an official policy from International moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is Headquarters. Unlike every other Protestant church in the world a code that is out of harmony with the moral at that time, the prophetic Salvationist voice was strangely silent law or the law of God.” The authority of God in regard to the horrific atrocities traumatizing helpless populawas superior to the authority of the state, and tions. the church was to be guided by Scripture alone. Can the Army in America afford to be morally neutral in the Danish Christian philosopher Søren Kipublic square of the 21st century? Commissioner James Knaggs erkegaard wrote that when Christianity bestates in his book One for All that it is impossible to preach the comes a part of the state, it ceases to be Chrisgospel without using words. We accept the fact that “the message tianity. History has demonstrated that religious of the cross is foolishness” to those far from the Lord (1 Cor. atrocities like the burning of Protestants in 16th 1:18). We have heard it time and time again that the exclusivity century England or the slaughter of 30,000 of the Christian gospel is offensive to pluralistic America. But far Protestant Huguenots in France occurred when be it for dedicated Salvationists to walk around with sealed lips, church and state merged together to maintain irenic intentions and portcullis smiles in a world ravaged by sin. power and authority. And so we are tasked by Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation testifying to Scripture, whether in good times or bad, to be a the absolute, inerrant truths of Scripture. God has raised up this light for God in a world darkened by sin generation of the Army for such a time as this (Matt. 5:14). (Esther 4:14). Not to play it safe, not to have our Major Lawrence Stephen Carter writes in The Culture prophetic voice silenced, but to pragmatically Shiroma is the of Disbelief that the church in general and discerningly lead a resurgence of the Protesterritorial social should have the freedom to preach resistant Reformation testifying to the absolute, inerservices secretary tance to immoral laws or policies of the rant truths of Scripture in our pulpits and in our in the USA Western Territory. state and to take a side opposite that of public square. w
26
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
War therapy through papermaking
27
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
The Combat Paper Project provides an outlet for veterans’ creativity and healing. By Margaret Elizabeth Mahan
D
rew Matott began using his co-created community arts studio—Green Door Studio in Burlington, Vt.—to teach classes in traditional western papermaking. In conversation with a collaborator, Drew Cameron, the two engaged in a dialogue surrounding Cameron’s military service and experience as an Iraq war veteran. Latenight papermaking sessions became the creative setting for Cameron and Matott to share each other’s perspectives on the current wars, as well as the continuum of militarism in American culture and society. Matott suggested that Cameron try pulping his own uniform to make paper, as it became clear that the act of making paper from rags played a role in facilitating this dialogue.
28
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
Cameron cut his military uniform off his body. He pulped the fibers in the Hollander beater, and pulled the first sheets of Combat Paper in 2007. His ironic piece, “Breaking Rank,” emerged after printing photographs of the event onto the paper. The process of turning a uniform into handmade paper became Combat Paper Project and is now seen all over the United States and abroad. Combat Paper Project allows workshop participants to address contemporary issues around war with the traditional papermaking process. We invite participants to bring in articles of cloth that carry personal significance, and engage each group in a shared transformation of these articles. In the “cutting of rag,” participants share the story behind the article they have brought to the table. The practices of papermaking, printmaking, bookbinding and creative writing are meaning-
In the “cutting of rag,” participants share the story behind the article they have brought to the table. ful to our participants, bringing people together and engaging them in a dialogue that strengthens community. The response from participants is powerful, and the creation of something less tangible in these workshops is clear—a sense of relief and positive energy, which is amplified with each new step in the process. I often hear veterans say, “I’ve never seen myself as an artist,” or, “I can’t make things,” but by the end of our time, these same participants show their peers the commemorative pieces, journals, and prints they have made with a sense of amazement and pride, paired with an eagerness to create more. It has become our mission to establish fixed papermaking programs within these communities across the U.S. As Americans, it is
Margaret Elizabeth Mahan is the Combat Paper Project workshop facilitator and coordinator. She also directs Peace Paper. Connect with Margaret facebook.com/MargaretMahan website: combatpaper.org peacepaper.net
Photos courtesy of Combat Paper Project
our responsibility to understand that as long as there are wars, there are veterans. When veterans come home, the war comes home with them. We see it as a necessity to provide creative care when they arrive and for a lifetime after that. w
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
29
A decade well traveled By Paul Hebblethwaite
In
2011, The Salvation Army’s Alegria program turns 10 years old and celebrates a legacy of support and treatment for homeless families affected by HIV/ AIDS. Located in the Silverlake district of Los Angeles, Alegria provides housing and support services to 44 families—16 households—that receive additional medical and life skills support in the residential care facility for the chronically ill. A hallmark of the program is its child development services that offer education and enrichment activities for the 80 children and youth who live at Alegria, and the spiritual support provided to families through its new community care program. But Alegria’s journey began 30 years ago in 1981, when AIDS was first diagnosed in the United States. For decades a united effort to prevent, treat, and one day eradicate HIV/AIDS has resulted in innovations and compassionate action across all spectrums of society. For The Salvation Army, supporting these efforts has been a core articulation of the organization’s mission to serve humanity without discrimination. As early as 1987, The Salvation Army conveyed a taskforce to discuss a coordinated response to the rapidly expanding disease. By 1991, the first residential program in the Western Territory started in downtown Los Angeles: Bethesda House. In 2001, the Southern California Division significantly expanded its HIV/ AIDS services by opening Alegria. Since its inception, Alegria has served HIV/ AIDS affected families and has been a place of healing and hope for hundreds of households. The program has challenged both residents and staff to seek greater challenges and new perspectives. It is these lessons that we remember this year.
30
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
Family The Salvation Army knows the devastation that natural disasters can cause, and the wake of destruction that addiction, homelessness and HIV/AIDS leave behind. The damage of human failure alters a person’s relationships with family and friends and leaves its mark on the future. For the households at Alegria, the nuclear family is barely holding together what remains of its natural bonds. In the majority of cases, relationships with extended family, friends and neighbors have been lost, and sometimes crushed by stigma and shame. These lost relationships reduce a family’s ability to cope with housing and employment challenges and eliminate an already fragile safety net. On top of that, families are dealing with a disease that impacts employment stability and new opportunities. Worse still, many of the women we work with were infected by unfaithful partners and are truly victimized by the burden of HIV/AIDS. At Alegria, family is complicated. Yet, an intentional effort to restore a person’s dignity and give him or her strength, often leads to a steady and hopeful restoration of relationships. When families are reconciled, and estranged families overcome the fear and judgment of stigma, grace enters a person’s life with powerful assurance of value and worth.
For decades a united effort to prevent, treat, and one day eradicate HIV/AIDS has resulted in innovations and compassionate action across all spectrums of society. As we have worked with families at Alegria, we have also greatly expanded our definition of family. Even though two-parent households are a mainstay of traditional American identity, the diversity of families we encounter in our work speaks to a different narrative. Families come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, but the importance of these relationships doesn’t change. Most decisions made by Alegria residents, good and bad, revolve around preserving and strengthening the unit. We can’t fix or tear apart a family because they are unhealthy or because we believe its composition is immoral. We have to work with what is given, hoping that our small encouragements and chal-
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
31
lenges are amplified by God’s spirit. If we don’t hold back our judgment from a family and allow God’s grace to work, we run the risk of an adversarial relationship that ends in further isolation and loss. People change from the inside and it takes a lot of work before a family welcomes us into its protected and cherished center, especially when stigma and rejection have resulted in high walls of shame. Hospitality Stigma has an antidote: hospitality. Not your garden variety, but a hardcore non-judgmental embrace of the other person, problems and all. Sometimes it means ignoring the obvious physical effects of a chronic illness until a person is ready to talk about it. Sometimes it means experiencing a cultural practice you don’t understand, or dislike. Most of the time being hospitable means being a little uncomfortable long enough for the experience of radical hospitality to change you from the inside. Through surveys and conversations with residents at Alegria, we know that churches don’t have a good record of sharing hospitality. A warm smile and a nametag cannot disguise the prejudice and fears of a congregation or community group. People who have experienced addiction, mental illness and HIV/AIDS have incredibly fine tuned judgment radars. Sadly, most places where they might find grace and healing set off all of their alarms, including within The Salvation Army. In response to this important need for hospitality, we established a community care ministry at Alegria. Led by a coordinator, the ministry extends regular and dynamic opportunities for experiencing grace in action. From home visitations to transportation to a local corps (church), community care at Alegria fosters a spiritual presence that compliments the clinical work of staff. Hospitality for us means setting aside time to listen, time to eat, and time to sing (karaoke, both magical and glass shattering). Community care also means supporting resident leadership, decision making and honoring the contribution of households at Alegria, who are creating a neighborhood that is welcoming and respectful. Paul Hebblethwaite was the executive director of Alegria from 2007-2011 and currently lives and works in Washington D.C.
32
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
Paul Hebblethwaite listens as former Alegria resident Shardae Collins tells her story at the Alegria 10th anniversary gala in September 2011.
Hope I have often remarked that residents at Alegria are more stable than the staff. Because Alegria includes 28 permanent housing units, we have residents who have lived here for 10 years, during which there have been four executive directors. Yet with advancements in HIV/ AIDS treatment and changing practices in homeless services, the last decade for Alegria residents has been a time of constant change. Sometimes change can be life draining and stress filled. Our recent economic times have strained many households and organizations as they adapt to completely new ways of being. During times like this, people can lose hope and fail to see the good things that surround them. At Alegria, change is also marked by advancements in medical treatment. When The Salvation Army opened its first residential program at Alegria, funerals were constant reminders of the deadly impact of AIDS. By 2011, treatment has caused a major shift in life expectancy and the quality of life a person with HIV/AIDS can expect. For many residents, this has been an incredible journey from a possible quick death to a deep gratefulness for the life they have experienced. This hopeful change continues and we wait with anticipation for the day when treatment eliminates the significant health risks of an HIV infection. Through it all, thick and thin, God calls Connect with Alegria us to journey together. Both the journey twitter @tsaalegria facebook.com/TheSalvationArmyAlegria and our fellow travelers create the stories website:salvationarmy-alegria.org we tell. For those who have joined everyone at Alegria on its journey these last 10 Photos by years, thank you and travel well. w Adriana Rivera and courtesy of Alegria
Based in Basra, Baghdad and Babylon
Iraqi Salvation Humanitarian Organization implements innovative programs for assistance in a warzone. By Raelton Gibbs
Ever sat in a meeting and wondered why you were there or whether something good would come from it? I often wonder what Lt. Colonel Mary Elvin was thinking on Nov. 26, 2002, when she attended a meeting at the United Kingdom’s House of Commons called by the Opposition Spokesperson to discuss “humanitarian contingency plans should there be a conflict in Iraq.” Whatever expectation Elvin may have had, this meeting proved to be the catalyst that led to Major Cedric Hills and Major Mike Olsen landing in Kuwait five months later to assess the needs and possibilities of The Salvation Army playing a role in the unfolding humanitarian response to the conflict. In May 2003, operations started in the south of Iraq as distribution monitors for the United Nations World Food Program began assisting with the management of the Oil for Food program in the southern Governorates. The Salvation Army soon established excellent Major Raelton Gibbs is the international community relations, especially in Meysan Governorate, and began a commuemergency services program officer at The nity rehabilitation program in Al Amarah in August 2003. Salvation Army’s International Headquarters in London. Although The Salvation Army did not have a formally established presPhotos courtesy of the Iraqi Salvation Humanitarian Organization
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
33
ISHO has learned that reaching to others when they are vulnerable and in need, with love, and entering into their pain and joy, this is t h e re a l s u c c e s s i n this world. ence in Iraq, as part of its long-term commitment to reconstruction and development, leadership made the decision to form an indigenous nongovernmental organization (NGO) that would be nurtured and mentored by The Salvation Army over time. The Iraqi Salvation Humanitarian Organization (ISHO) was officially registered in mid-2004 when international staff withdrew from Iraq because of the serious security concerns following unrest in Al Amarah. At the time, ISHO membership generally included employees
34
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
Representatives of ISHO with Salvation Army delegates Commissioner Robin Forsyth (front row, second from left), Major Raelton Gibbs (back row, far left) and Major Drew Ruthven (back row, far right).
of The Salvation Army. There followed a period of 24 months of remote management of the project from an office in neighboring Kuwait during which time ISHO gained experience collaborating with The Salvation Army in training activities and project implementation in preparation
ISHO permanent accommodation
for eventual independence from The Salvation Army. That day arrived on March 31, 2006, when the final two international staff closed the Kuwait office and control of the Iraq relief program transferred to International Headquarters (IHQ). Today, ISHO is a vibrant organization with offices in Basra, Baghdad, and Babylon and is looking to open up in Ebril. In many ways the child has grown and is living independently from the parent, however, close bonds remain and are recognized in the recent signing of another Memorandum of Understanding in April 2011. Having grown in recent years, ISHO is active and is now recognized as one of the major internal NGO’s providing humanitarian assistance within Iraq. It has become involved in refurbishing schools and school equipment, health education, the assessment and assistance of returning internally displaced people, and the construction and repair of housing. Currently, it has partnership contracts with groups like the UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency). Sometimes it is the little things that make all the difference, and ISHO undertakes a number of small innovative projects to meet needs. With a small donation from a generous benefactor in America, ISHO bought presents for 200-orphaned children (100 Christians and 100 Muslims) and threw them
Commissioner Robin Forsyth (right) and ISHO Chairman Muntajab Ibraheem shake hands after signing the Memorandum of Understanding.
a party. The smiles on the faces of those involved told a story of welcome relief from bullets, explosions and crime that is part of daily experience in Iraq. Through similar donations, ISHO supports older orphaned children in Baghdad with a computer equipment shop. Based in the quarter of the city where a lot of car dealers are, young people are taught IT and customer service skills. The center provides a service for scanning and copying ID documents and the official documents for car sales. It is a simple idea that is providing a service to the local businesses and giving young people skills and preparation for the future. From repairing equipment for schools to providing permanent accommodation to those who have none, from working with internally displaced people to providing health awareness to communities in Baghdad, ISHO continues to work tirelessly and think creatively to rebuild community in Iraq. “There are always issues that arise during the course of each implementation that leads us to understand that we need to constantly review our performance and to take from each project lessons that will facilitate such improvement,” one ISHO team member recently wrote. “ISHO has learned that reaching to others when they are vulnerable and in need, with love, and entering into their pain and joy, this is the real success in this world.” w
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
35
A united approach to veterans’ services
36
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
National Headquarters A voice for veterans
Portland, Ore. Home Front War Relief
By Susan Harfoot
By Kim Pettina
In the early 1950s, I remember standing with my Salvation Army officer parents in the Detroit Grand Central Station as military personnel boarded trains bound for Korea. As the officers passed by, Salvation Army personnel handed them a care package that contained a pocket Bible. As a young child, this made a lasting impression on me. Today, every new appointment Colonel Susan as a Salvation Army officer affords Harfoot is the new lessons, new challenges, and Veterans Affairs new opportunities. I am greetVolunteer Services (VAVS) national ing you as the newly appointed representative at The Salvation Army’s National RepSalvation Army’s USA resentative to National Headquarters. the Veterans Affairs Volunteer Services (VAVS). I am exploring, reading and learning about the history of Salvation Army ministry through partnership with the VAVS across the United States. The Salvation Army currently offers a large range of veterans programs and services in this country. As of February 2011, the Army has active volunteers in 170 Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers and outpatient clinics in the U.S; a total of 41,056 hours of volunteer service were reported in 2010. In many cities, The Salvation Army provides transitional and permanent veteran housing. A large percentage of this is in Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Centers that provide in-residence programs for those needing counseling for substance misuse, legal problems, homelessness and unemployment. The program provides a clean and healthy living environment combined with good food, work therapy and leisure activities. Group and individual counseling are also offered, along with spiritual direction and resources to help veterans develop life skills and a personal relationship with God. The opportunities are endless, the need is great, and the calling to salute and give service to those who have protected our freedom is God-honoring. w
As the “global war on terrorism” in Iraq and Afghanistan moves into its eighth year (the longest combat war since Vietnam), the financial and emotional toils on deployed and returned military personnel and their families continue to mount. Many veterans are serving third and fourth tours of duty. Statistics reveal that 38 percent of veterans have had multiple deployments. For those who have returned, the battles at home are often as difficult to navigate as those on the front lines in the Middle East. The stark reality is that returning Gulf War vets are twice as likely to be unemployed as their civilian counterparts. The unemployment rate for veterans who left the military is 18 percent, nearly twice the national average. Over 90 percent of soldiers in Iraq have witnessed violence or been called on to kill, been shot at or attacked by improvised exploitive device (IED) attacks or suffered the extreme anxiety associated with possible attacks while on patrol, or known friends killed or seriously injured. It is estimated that as many as 30-40 percent of Iraq veterans have symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other mental health problems. Yet, few seek mental health treatment upon return from duty in fear of being seen as weak or it going on their permanent military record and affecting any future military career. To help those who have sacrificed so much, The Salvation Army Cascade Division began Home Front War Relief (HFWR) six years ago with funding from the Lily Foundation. Now, Portland’s K-PAM radio hosts a fund raiser each year, Operation Santa Claus. The weeklong annual event generates around $130,000, which is distributed through HFWR to eligible military applicants. Funds have been used for tuition and books, to purchase firewood in the winter and even for funeral expenses. Mostly, HFWR pays for basic living expenses—car payments, utilities, rent Kim Pettina is the and mortgages. Home Front War Relief The program does face a challenge coordinator in the in that none of the funds raised by the Cascade Division. radio station can be used to defray expenses associated with The Salvation Connect with Kim email: kimberley. Army’s administration of the program. nebeker@usw.salvationOf the money raised, 100 percent goes army.org directly to military families, 25% of whom HFWR served in 2010. w
The unemployment rate for veterans who left the military is 18 percent, nearly twice the national average.
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
37
Louisville, Ky. Homeless Veterans Tr a n s i t i o n a l H o u s i n g By Marilyn Markwell
“
Some people think that homeless people are the scum of the ea r th , bu t w e a re n o t. We a re j u s t p eo p le w h o n eed h elp . – Craig
ready to go back into society,” he said. “Some people think that homeThe surroundings are simple, but a welcomed site less people are the scum of the earth, but we are not. We are just for the weary soldiers who call the Army’s two-year people who need help.” Homeless Veterans Transitional Housing program in George Whitfield, homeless veteran advocate case manager, meets Kentucky home. It provides 28 diverse veterans with with Craig and the other men individually at least 30 minutes each resources to return to self-sufficiency and regain hope. week to discuss goals, spiritual frustrations and coping strategies. WhitCraig, one of the veterans working toward self-relifield said 95 percent of the veterans want to improve their lives. In adance, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxidition to one-on-one intervention, the men have biweekly community ety and depression—not from his military service, but meetings where they tackle issues with each other and/or the program. from his childhood. One of nine children, whose parEach person has responsibilities in budgeting, hygiene, houseents divorced when he was five, Craig was left to live keeping and leadership. They also work on in poverty with his relationships with their families and other alcoholic mother. He significant people in their lives; and attend recalls going extended weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings periods of time with as needed. When the men feel they are adno electricity in their equately equipped and have the means to home and huddling move out, as Craig will soon do, The Salvawith his old dog in the tion Army assists with deposits for rentals bed to stay warm. and utilities as well as clothing and identifiAs a child, Craig cation documents. was abused sexually “I am a survivor,” and physically and said Marilyn Markwell Craig said. “I am not it continued into his is the community looking for a handout! adult life. He started relations director in the KentuckyI am going to make drinking when he was Tennessee Division. something good out of a young teenager and the pain I’ve endured became homeless for Photos by and this place is helpthe first time at 16. Marilyn Markwell ing me to get there.” w The following year, he joined the U.S. Army to escape his life. “My war was a personal war that I have been battling all my life,” Craig said. “I drank, did drugs, and did things intentionally to get put in jail; I have been arrested 30 times!” Today, Craig is Above: A resident at The Salvation Army Center working with the help of Hope eats his lunch. of The Salvation Army Right: Lt. Boris Davis welcomes George to the to better himself. “This dining room. program is getting me
38
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
Lothar Vasholz and Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack at the 2010 Veteran Expo in Indio, Calif.
Cathedral City, Calif. Veterans Easy Access Program
Honorees at the 2010 Veteran Expo (from left to right) Lance Cpl. Thomas VanGarder, Lance Cpl. Ka’Merial Kelley, Cpl. Cy Cervantes and Lois Nieley.
By Bill Young and Lothar Vasholz
The Veterans Easy Access Program (VEAP) emerged in 2008 at the Cathedral City Corps to bring together a variety of veterans support groups and non-profits to better resolve veteran issues. At the time, approximately 23.8 million veterans lived in the U.S. and there were some 37 million dependents of living and deceased veterans—representing 20 percent of the population of this country. A small group of Cathedral City Advisory Board members—Bill Young, Lothar Vasholz, Tom Leyda and Dick Yarger— spoke with recent Iraq/Afghanistan veterans, their families, and related organizations and political leaders. It was evident that many veterans found it extremely time-consuming and frustrating to obtain the benefits they were entitled to. The Cathedral City Corps and its advisory board formed an initial alliance of non-profits to work together primarily on veteran social services problems, later expanding the concept to include veterans support groups, local legislators (federal, state and local levels) as well as other groups that had a heart for veterans. While advisory board driven, the officers in charge of the Cathedral City Corps support the program. It began under the leadership of Captains Saul and Jessica Doria and is now directed by Lieutenants Sean and Bonita Kelsey. Today, VEAP consists of 100 veterans groups, non-profits and legislators.
Quarterly veterans roundtables are held with local California State Assemblyman V. Manuel Perez, who sits on the Veterans Committee at the state level, to facilitate a better exchange of information regarding what is being worked on at state level and what the alliance feels is important for helping our veterans locally. VEAP created a Soldiers Needs Project that deals directly with the chaplains at the 29 Palms Marine Base. The project provides items specific to the frontline troops in Iraq or Afghanistan as identified by the chaplains such as socks, baby wipes and stocking caps. It is developing a facility in the Coachella Valley that is “veteran friendly,” combining social services from The Salvation Army with the additional help of trained veteran advocates to identify and obtain benefits. It is also compiling a special database to handle the needs of veterans locally, which will require much work, a lot of faith and key funding in order for it to Bill Young is the vice chairman of the grow to the levels envisioned for Cathedral City Advisory the future. Board and Lothar Riverside County Veterans AfVasholz is its former fairs recently decided to develop chairman. their own “alliance” based on Connect with Lt. Sean the VEAP model; the two groups Kelsey are working together for mutual email: sean.kelsey@ benefit. w usw.salvationarmy.org Photos by Clint Miller
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
39
Los Angeles, Calif. The Haven By Janice Tsao
The Salvation Army was one of the first non-profit organizations to partner with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to help the homeless veteran population. In 1994, the VA awarded the Army with federal funds to start a 65 bed Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program in West Los Angeles, named, The Haven. The Haven has expanded significantly since its inception in 1994. We have three transitional residential housing programs (135 beds total), two residential emergency shelters (60 beds total), board and care residential program (70 beds total) and employment and housing supportive services programs. Through all of our eight programs, we help homeless veterans recover and rebuild their lives by offering evidence-based treatment, income stabilization services and help integrating back into the community. We help thousands of veterans every year; including residents like John, who survived an extremely violent childhood. When John was old enough, he joined the U.S. Army, served several years and was discharged in 1979. Unable to escape childhood trauma, John began
40
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
using drugs and alcohol to medicate his pain and in so doing, picked up a number of drug related felonies. He suffers with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and significant sleep disorders. A few months after arriving at The Haven, he was diagnosed with stage four cancer. While undergoing chemo, John continued to apply himself to the treatment program. He also remained actively involved with our employment program, while taking additional computer classes and participating in volunteer activities. Although John had a number of disappointments and setbacks because of his criminal background, he remained determined. The Haven staff assisted him with job search strategies, resume preparation, and assistance with expungements and transportation. The best thing The Haven staff did for him was to provide encouragement Janice to sustain him through all the obstacles Tsao is the he faced. By God’s grace, a supportive executive community at The Haven and through director of his own determination, John recently The Haven. secured a new job. w
... we help homeless veterans recover and rebuild their lives by offering evidence-based treatment, income stabilization services and help integrating back into the community.
Beaverton, Ore. T h e S a l v a t i o n A r m y Veterans and Family Center By Rick Stoller
Since 2006, The Salvation Army Veterans and Family Center in downtown Portland has served residents and their families in an old and outdated building. The rooms were small, unattractive and not conducive to a sense of community. We were located in an area with many bars, strip clubs, and near places where illegal drug deals were made. That atmosphere was difficult for veterans early in recovery from dependency. Major James Sloan envisioned a better place to help serve our veterans and helped us to relocate to the building that we are currently occupying in Beaverton. The site moved in July, and now instead of bars and strip clubs, our new neighbors are the Sisters of St. Mary, who have proven to be gracious and generous neighbors. Instead of only streets and sidewalks outside,
families can take their children out to play in a beautiful fenced backyard where the kids can run and enjoy the fresh air. And instead of cramped rooms, veterans are now housed in spacious rooms with full baths, air conditioning and room to relax. The veterans can stay with us for up to nine months. During that time, they receive a safe and dignified place to stay, three nutritious meals a day, and an environment conducive to rebuilding their lives. We have a staff chaplain who ministers to spiritual needs—they receive case management, access to VA service at the local hospital and clinic, Rick Stoller is substance abuse and the director of mental health treatThe Salvation ment, job training and Army Veterans housing searches. w and Family Center in Beaverton, Ore.
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
41
The Liberating Truth: How Jesus Empowers Women By Stacy Birks
By Robert Birks
Brothels, burqas, bikinis, Botox, the Booths’ Army—nothing escapes the scorching biblical light The Liberating Truth, by Danielle Strickland, shines on the sins of oppression suffered by women. It is clear, however, that Strickland’s intent is to do more than just shine a singular light. She dares to dream that the Light/light of the world will expose and end the mistreatment, devaluation, underestimation, and repression of women (John 9:5, Matt. 5:14). Or, as she writes, “The Church needs to rise up and be like Jesus again!” A quick look at some of the chapter titles makes it clear that even though there’s a butterfly on the cover, this book packs a powerful punch: You Are Not a Princess, Killing Us with Cotton, A Song of Lies, Ball and Chain, and Jesus the Feminist. If you’re still with me after reading that last chapter title, good for you. And that fact could be good for others as well if we get convinced (as Strickland is) of Jesus’ countercultural, revolutionary attitude toward women. Referring specifically to John 20, where Jesus first revealed his resurrected self to a woman, Strickland points out that Jesus did much more than tell his disciples to value women, he showed them (and us) how to do so by his actions. I am thankful that The Salvation Army was founded firmly on the conviction that
Continued on page 43
42
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
She did it again! She got me all ANIELLE worked up and ready to fight. She figured out the buttons to push TRICKLAND that get me on the soapbox of “biblical feminism,” defending the equality and dignity of women— especially women in leadership and ministry. Danielle Strickland has successfully used her gift of words to communicate accurately what I, and so many other women around the world, know without a doubt. Years ago Strickland wrote a revolutionary piece about women in leadership titled “The married women’s ghetto rant” (Journal of Aggressive Christianity, Issue 41, Feb.-Mar. 2006). She expressed T H E L I B E R AT I N G T RU T H : frustrations about being a woman H OW J E S U S E M P OW E R S WO M E N in ministry and offered solutions on how to make necessary changes Majors in the church and world in which she serves. The rant was encouraging to me. It validated many feelings I had and Robert gave me the courage and confidence to keep fighting for the and Stacy equality and dignity of women in ministry. Birks are Strickland writes from experience and knowledge and believes the gifts of the Spirit are the same for men and the divisional women “and they are given to both men and women in equal secretary for measure and are given for the expansion of God’s kingdom.” program and Strickland also did her homework, backing up every opinion with Scripture, using interesting personal testimonies from associate real women in the struggle, and quoting respected scholars divisional on the subject of empowering women. Most importantly, she secretary wrote through inspiration from the Holy Spirit. Now that I have read her inspired work on how Jesus for program, empowers women, I am convinced more than ever that we respectively, in are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:28) and that we should the Golden celebrate the diversity of God’s calling to all people. These words get me worked up and excited, not in order to pick State a fight without purpose, but to continue on as a Christian Division. leader in ministry, supporting other women in leadership and ministry in order to share a God who loves equality and dignity and justice and grow his kingdom. w
S
D
Continued from page 42
God speaks to and through his people, that Jesus died, was resurrected and lives to save, and that the Holy Spirit gives gifts to all believers—regardless of gender. While many in our movement give lip service to these liberating truths, it remains to be seen if we will fully receive and reflect them. If we don’t, we’re not presenting the full gospel. As Leonard Swidler puts it, “Feminism, that is, personalism extended to women, is a constitutive part of the Gospel, the Good News, of Jesus.” Strickland’s new book is not for everyone. It’s really only for those who care about how women are treated and valued both inside and outside the walls of the church. It’s really only for those who want to treat others as God would have them treated. It’s really only for those with the guts to have their traditions challenged, their minds changed and their hearts set aflame for action. “It’s time!” w
Strickland writes from experience and knowledge and believes the gifts of the Spirit are the same for men and women “and they are given to both men and women in equal measure and are given for the expansion of God’s kingdom.”
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
43
APPAREL WARdrobe is using “clothing as a canvas to impact the world.” The creator, Fulton Hawk, is a Salvation Army Youth Program Specialist from the Del Oro Division in Northern California, who designs the T-shirts with the modern Salvationist in mind. The company has already sold more than 11,000 T-shirts, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to various Salvation Army charity causes. Shop at merchline.com/ thesalvationarmy.
IN PRINT The Freedom Bible (American Bible Society, 2011) highlights 3,500 liberating verses that promote a message of God’s freedom. “This Bible is beautifully designed for all those struggling— seeking answers amidst suffering, grief, and loss,” said Commissioner M. Christine MacMillan.
ONLINE crcc.usc.edu/blog Explores religion’s global reach with content for researchers, policy-makers, communities and thoughtleaders. sar.my/one General Linda Bond made a call for The Salvation Army around the world to be united in mission and message and to grasp new opportunities as she launched her international vision: One Army, One Mission, One Message. Part of that vision involves deepening our spiritual life, emphasizing our integrated ministry and communicating Christ unashamedly. Watch her present the vision in an online video. Healthy Choices, Healthy Children (Paraclete Press, 2011) is an easy-to-use guide filled with tips, recipes and relevant spiritual wisdom for raising well-nourished, active children.
Disciples’ Literal New Testament (Reyma Publishing, 2011) replaces old chapter and verse structure with paragraphing that reflects the original Greek writings. The Present, The Shepherds and Me and The Baby Jesus Story (Salvo Publishing, 2011) are Christmas
books for toddlers and preschoolers that are meant to be drawn and colored in.
Emmaline Rabbit (Salvo Publishing, 2011) is a children’s book that teaches the importance of accepting others, while also helping kids learn about the social injustice that refugees face, through Emmaline Rabbit and her furry family.
“I have always tried to use the most literal translation in my personal studies of the Bible. Now it will definitely be the Disciples’ Literal New Testament!” writes reviewer Audrey Cooper. “This translation really makes me feel like I am reading the New Testament from a totally new perspective—like a first century Christian.”
44
WINTER 2011_2012/CARING
NON PROFIT US POSTAGE
PAID LONG BEACH, CA PERMIT #5308 The Salvation Army USA Western Territory P.O. Box 22646, Long Beach, CA 90802-5646