TSA - RSA2022 - Report Back Thank you for your support

Your report from the Salvos and the people you help.

Winter 2022

INSIDE: how you… …gave Jennifer a way back in

…answered the call on Doorknock weekend

…changed a young mum’s life

…got people through the floods

My dear friend, I want to take this opportunity to share with you the meaningful impact your support is having on The Salvation Army mission and personally thank you for always standing up and walking alongside us as we journey with others in their time of need.

Despite facing disasters, impacts due to COVID-19, and the consequent uncertainty we all experience, we come together to face these challenges.

Your Red Shield Appeal impact

u o y k n Tha

Your support has had a significant impact on the lives of tens of thousands of people who look to The Salvation Army for support each year. It tells a story of unwavering generosity and compassion that has given strength to those who have had an extremely challenging year.

When the Red Shield Appeal launched, you answered our call to help those experiencing domestic violence. Within these pages, you will see how your compassion is helping so many women find a way back in, from the devastation and despair caused by abuse and violence at home.

You will also see the important role you played during disasters and crises and helping families and individuals in need.

When our emergency services teams were responding all around the country, you were right there with them – providing shelter, warm meals and hope in times of crisis. We couldn’t do it without you!

The Salvation Army’s vision is a powerful one.

We remain committed to helping those in need. Wherever there is hardship or injustice, Salvos will live, love and fight, alongside others, to transform Australia one life at a time with the love of Jesus.

God Bless you,

Neil Venables (Lieutenant-Colonel) The Salvation Army

2

The Salvation Army is a Christian charity, but they help all kinds of people… any race, any background and any religion. They give you support no matter who you are.”

– Jennifer

Every year the Red Shield Appeal is supported with profound generosity by supporters like you. It’s our most important annual appeal, which makes it the most important few months of the year for the most marginalised and disadvantaged people in Australia.

Jennifer’s story is but one example.

Jennifer was so desperate to escape her abusive partner, she did so in spite of having no income and no support network. But thanks to caring people like you, The Salvation Army welcomed her with open arms.

for your amazing Red Shield Appeal support.

As she says, “I got to the Salvos shelter and I thought ‘… God helps me, I’m so lucky.”

Thanks to you, Jennifer found safety, support, accomodation, food and fresh clean clothing within 24 hours of her first call to the Salvos. Most importantly, for the first time in a long time, she knew someone cared.

“I feel like my voice could be heard,” she says.

“It’s not just about material things, it’s about the thoughtfulness behind them. It’s made me feel like I’m not alone and that I’m being cared for.”

For many women, a Salvos shelter is a short-term solution in a crisis, but Jennifer’s situation meant she needed to stay for longer. As she explains, “Due to COVID there were long delays with the court case against my ex-partner, and the Salvos were helping me with legal assistance and many other things, so I stayed for over a year.”

There’s no time limit to the support you help us provide. Together we stand alongside people like Jennifer for as long as it takes, while they recover from trauma and rebuild their lives.

Thanks to Salvos supporters like you, Jennifer is continuing her journey of recovery and working to build a secure future. In fact, volunteering to cook for other residents has inspired her to pursue a career in hospitality.

“Everything that I have today is thanks to the Salvos and their supporters. Without them I’d probably be staying on the street,” she says.

Thanks to you, every year we assist around

5,800 women and children, at risk of, or experiencing, domestic and family violence.

Every day across Australia, your kindness is having the same transformational impact in people’s lives. Thank you for believing in our work. Thank you for walking alongside those suffering hardship and misfortune. You are our greatest inspiration, and their greatest source of hope.

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Safety, stability and hope

Thank y ou

for helping Gemma find a way back in.

Gemma had a happy life, but it was torn apart when her partner lost his job during the first lockdown. First he turned to drugs, then he became abusive and violent, even threatening the baby. Today, Gemma wants to thank you for helping her in her hour of greatest need…

I truly believe that support like yours saved mine and Lily’s lives.

Being given a safe place that was ours to call home was the difference between our survival and not.

I am a completely different person today, and I credit that to the support I’ve received from the Salvos. Which I know would

not be possible without your generosity.

I have bawled my eyes out a thousand times because I’ve felt so blessed by the understanding of The Salvation Army, and the generosity of supporters like you.

You’ve given me a sense of safety and security. You’ve helped to foster my growth and

recovery. And my child is a happy, confident, and emotionally secure toddler now, thanks to you.

You gave us a second chance at a safe and happy future, and we couldn’t feel more blessed and grateful.

Thank you!

Gemma

Your hope where it’s needed most

g i v i n g Your will change people’s lives!

For 58 years, amazing Australians like you have been giving generously to support The Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal and change people’s lives.

Your Salvos care delivered

one-on-one

The care your support makes possible.

Thanks to Red Shield Appeal support like yours, women who have fled violence receive powerfully transformative counselling from Salvos Officers like Melanie Cop. When women first arrive at a refuge and emotions are painful and raw, Melanie is a reassuring presence.

“Women share stories with me of some of their darkest and most terrifying experiences,” says Melanie. “I listen to these stories without judgement, regardless of background, culture, faith, or sexual orientation. Tears may flow, and I hold their hand, but the most valuable thing I can do is be present.”

Your faith, kindness and generosity make a real and lasting difference to people who are struggling with hardship, homelessness and injustice.

This year you have outdone yourselves. Throughout the appeal we were humbled by the wonderful generosity you showed, and I can assure you that your giving is already hard at work helping people who are suffering. Thank you so much!

Melanie is also there to offer longer term support, which may include supporting a family in court, or attending a police station with them to make a statement.

It’s not recommended for victim survivors to stay in their local area, so a large part of her role is to connect them with appropriate services in their new communities.

The support she offers can be practical, emotional, or spiritual.

“As chaplain, I offer spiritual care through prayer or study, or offer a

Your support will transform thousands of people’s lives, helping us to end homelessness, relieve financial hardship, provide food and care packages to those on the edge, and most of all, restore hope to those who have lost sight of it.

Thank you for reaching out to help so many Australians who are struggling during these difficult times.

faith connection best suited to the person’s faith or belief.”

Melanie says we all have a role to play in supporting women who may be at risk of, or experiencing, domestic violence. As she says, “If you have a gut feeling that something is not quite right with a friend or family member, it’s important to check in with them.”

Thanks to you, last year we provided:

1,889,000

sessions of care across all social programs

887,500

crisis beds to people who experienced homelessness 5

Your flood response

s s e n d n i k r u o Yreally counted when

crisis hit QLD & NSW

Thank you so much for your rapid action when Queensland and New South Wales were hit by the worst floods Australia has ever seen.

The power of people like you coming together is amazing.

When devastating floods hit the east coast of Australia earlier this year, you helped us respond immediately with practical, financial, emotional and spiritual support directly to those most affected and displaced from their homes.

We immediately released $1 million of Red Shield Appeal funds for the emergency relief mission and launched an urgent appeal to raise a further $10 million to support communities for the long term as they get back on their feet.

In the first two weeks alone, Salvos officers and local volunteers provided more than 40,000 meals in 20 evacuation centres located in the worst affected areas. Communities rallied to comfort and support neighbours whose homes and belongings had been swept away by the unprecedented flooding.

The next step was to help vulnerable families with financial grants towards the cost of temporary accommodation and the extensive clean-up of

their properties. Thanks to your compassion and generosity, we will continue to support flood-affected communities as they rebuild their lives.

From the moment disaster strikes, your support means we’re ready to help communities on the ground, and for as long as help is needed.

Emergency flood relief thanks to supporters like you

42,647

meals and refreshments served at evacuation centres

$5,327,889

distributed in financial assistance

25,359

recovery grants issued

26,184

households assisted

Relieving isolation

A mag ict al momen

for 81-year-old Tom During COVID, many people were feeling even more isolated than usual.

All over Australia the Salvos work hard to bring a sense of connection to people who feel isolated. But we couldn’t do this vital work without you and your support.

After the Salvos changed his life, Tom spent 30 years volunteering; making food parcel deliveries and doing whatever he could to help others in need.

So one sunny morning, the Salvos “Yard Brass” turned up on the lawn outside Tom’s nursing home for a very special, personal performance.

One standout example is the surprise Corps Officer Major Matt Reeve put on for Tom Connah, a much-loved member of The Salvation Army family.

“We wanted to recognise Tom for his many years of service, to thank him and let him know that we loved him,” says Matt.

“A Yard Brass visit helps older people to still feel connected.

When we played to Tom, there would have been maybe 50 people watching from balconies or passing by,” says Matt.

Connecting people

Our doors are always open, Right across Australia, the many doors of the The Salvation Army are always open. We keep them open so that people in need can ask for help, people in danger can find sanctuary, and people who feel lost and abandoned can find a way back in to happier lives.

For example, during COVID lockdown last year, the doors at The Salvation Army Sydney Congress Hall never closed once. All thanks to volunteers and supporters like you.

When social services in the area paused, and vulnerable people became more isolated, Danny Salisbury and his team of volunteers continued to support the homeless.

thanks to you.

“Every Tuesday, we loaded up the vans with meals and reached out to vulnerable people in our community. It was all about building relationships with the community and seeing if there was anything else we could provide,” says Danny.

The dedication of Danny’s team of volunteers is admirable, and was repeated over and over right across the country, thanks to good people like you.

Thank you so much for being there for elderly and isolated members of the community when they needed you most.

, y ou answered!

Red Shield in the community

We knocked

Every year amazing Salvos supporters and volunteers like you come together to make the iconic Doorknock Weekend come alive. In fact, over the last 58 years, you’ve turned it into an Aussie tradition. This year, when we knocked, you answered in style.

In every corner of the country wonderful people like you answered our call and donated in record numbers. An army of 20,000 volunteers and collectors were out and about on the weekend of the 28th and 29th of May, knocking on doors and holding collections in shopping centres and other public spaces.

who shook a bucket, organised an event, or gave a donation.

You are all such an inspiration.

A reminder that no matter how tough times might get, when good people come together in kindness, compassion and community spirit, so much can be achieved.

We want to say a huge thank you to each and every one of you who volunteered your time,

Thank you for

A massive thank you to you all for helping to raise awareness and vital funds in so many communities.

for the Salvos! t g p u s n i p ep ” “

The Salvation Army’s 10,000 Step Challenge attracted over 2,000 generous and enthusiastic Australians who committed to walk 10,000 steps each day in March while raising critical funds for people in need via Facebook. A huge thank you goes out to you all!

But we have to make a very special mention of 72 year-old Lindsay, who inspired so many of you. Despite being in hospital for 11 days with an ear infection, Lindsay was determined to complete his 10,000 Step Challenge.

Never one to give up, Lindsay walked up and down the long corridors of St George Hospital to complete his daily steps. After posting updates on Facebook, he became known as the Ward Walk Warrior.

Thanks Lindsay, and thank you all!

Thank you for leaving no one in need 13 SALVOS (13 72 58) | salvationarmy.org.au

10,000 STEP CHALLENGE