Transforming Lives
It is the personal disasters of spirit, body and mind that The Salvation Army attacks with its programs to transform lives — the disasters of homelessness, hunger and addiction for example.
Many of those we serve have nowhere else but The Salvation Army to turn to for help. They are those most deeply troubled in body and soul. Each year, The Salvation Army serves more than 1.8 million meals to the hungry in the Chicagoland area. Each night of the year, more than 1100 people are housed under a Salvation Army roof. Driven from their homes by circumstance or abuse, The Salvation Army's Evangeline Booth Lodge provided shelter, food, clothing, counseling and aid to more than 2000 men, women and children last year.
The ravages of addiction are combated at The Salvation Army's Harbor Light Center and two Adult Rehabilitation Centers in Chicago. Last year, these centers assisted 4000 people with programs designed to help facilitate long-term recovery from substance abuse and successful re-entry into the community.
Job training programs and counseling programs help to instill skills and overcome the problems that often lead to hunger, homelessness and loss of direction in lives with the goal of regaining self-respect and self-sufficiency. Spiritual counseling and renewal programs help renew the spirit and build a transformation in those so desperately in need.
Each life is a gift of God, and so we strive to bring to each the care, services and compassion to help them transform their lives.