An Army and an Alliance Join Forces to Battle Homelessness

When you look over the calendar on the website of Charlottesville’s Salvation Army, you realize that it literally does take a massive army to launch so much proactive good for individuals and the community at-large.

From solo volunteers to large professional organizations, the composition of The Salvation Army is as diverse as the clients they have vowed to serve. One proud Army member is Piedmont Housing Alliance, who offers families in need much more than the possibility of a roof over their heads.

Shelley Murphy, director of program services at Piedmont Housing Alliance, explains the program. “Our role is to provide educational workshops at The Salvation Army. We established the program years ago, while working with the clients who were living in the transitional units. We met monthly and discussed various topics. Our goals were to help the clients with a financial assessment, money management and budgeting, credit build up, and setting goals. Along the way, we coached them to help meet their goals. We also met with clients one-on-one and provided housing counseling services.”

Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”  The education and support of Piedmont Housing Alliance and The Salvation Army have been resoundingly successful in helping families change their worlds by learning how to become financially stronger and to secure in their own homes.

About The Salvation Army

The Charlottesville Corps of The Salvation Army was established in 1912 as a place where someone in need in the city could go to get a hot meal and free lodging for the night. Since then, the program has expanded to include:

>The Soup Kitchen — Provides more than 50,000 hot meals each year.

>The Emergency Shelter — A free 58-bed shelter available for overnight stay or for stays of several weeks or months at a time.

>The Center of Hope Transitional Housing Program — Nine one- and two-bedroom furnished apartments in a two-story building located at 207 Ridge Street. The residents pay a small monthly program fee.

>Emergency Social Services Program — Helps those in the surrounding community who are in need of emergency social services.

>Dominion EnergyShare Bill Payment Assistance — Applies to any heating/cooling source within Dominion Virginia Power’s service territory.

>Our Salvation Army Family Store, located at 604 Cherry Avenue.

>The Emergency Disaster Unit — A community emergency disaster response organization to provide support to emergency personnel in the field for an extended period of time.

For details on all these programs, click here.

To support the year-round outreach of The Salvation Army financial contributions may be sent to:

The Salvation Army
Charlottesville VA Corps
207 Ridge Street
Charlottesville,  VA 22902
or by calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY