On the Front Lines of the Heroin Epidemic in Philadelphia

Needles & trash at heroin encampment along Gurney St. railroad tracks

The intersection of Second and Indiana Streets in the Fairhill section of Philadelphia is lined with rowhomes that look tired and worn. Some are completely abandoned. Despite the downtrodden atmosphere, the area was buzzing with activity on this sweltering summer morning. City agencies and numerous community outreach groups, including The Salvation Army Greater Philadelphia, set up tables and tents to offer vital social service resources to the residents of this neighborhood, long known as “The Badlands.”

Restoring Hope in Kensington: Video

The Salvation Army Greater Philadelphia is among a number of agencies partnering with the City of Philadelphia to provide hope and transform lives of individuals and families living in Kensington and Fairhill. These neighborhoods are being held hostage by the heroin epidemic. On a blistering hot day in July, a team of Salvation Army Greater Philadelphia volunteers headed out with city workers to the area around Hope Park near East Indiana and Ella Streets.  This is how community outreach can begin the healing:

Adopt-A-Family

Long before you see the first light on a tree, smell roasting chestnuts, or hear a bell ringing by a red kettle, The Salvation Army has been hard at work preparing for the holiday season. The season of giving is year-round, and Salvation Army officers and employees start planning well in advance to help those most in need during what should be “the most wonderful time of the year.”

The Salvation Army’s Adopt-A-Family program specializes in helping families who’ve experienced extreme hardship and devastating tragedies during the year such as death, serious illness, abuse, and home fires. Families in the most difficult situations are adopted by a sponsor who purchases Christmas gifts for each member of the family.

Dedicated to Hunger Relief

 The Salvation Army Tabernacle Corps is working to help those poor in both health and resources

The Salvation Army exists to serve and give, but wouldn’t exist without those who give and serve. It’s a never-ending circle of trust that bonds The Salvation Army to its donors, their donations, their communities, their neighbors, who return to The Salvation Army for help or to help. The return on investment into the work of The Salvation Army is both measurable, yet at the same time, unquantifiable. The number of clothes given, meals served, shelters provided, rescues from human trafficking, and Christmas presents given can be counted. Measuring the positive outcomes in the lives and health of individuals, families, neighborhoods, and communities proves more elusive.

Finding Common Ground at Central Corps

Majors Bounmy and Manivene Luangamath

Located in the heart of Grays Ferry, The Salvation Army’s Central Corps serves an increasingly diverse population of neighbors. Many worlds converge here as immigrants from Thailand, China, Laos, Vietnam, Burma, and Haiti, build new lives alongside African- and Anglo-Americans. The working-class neighborhood has a history of racial tension and violence. In the southwest pocket of the city where American freedom was born exists a microcosm reflective of the critical issues facing not just Philadelphians, but the rest of our country.

Two people bringing The Salvation Army cadre of community-building programs and services are Majors Bounmy and Manivene Luangamath. Though retired from The Salvation Army since 2008, the couple continue to serve God using their life experience to minister to others. As immigrants and refugees themselves, Majors Luangamath have an understanding and perspective uniquely applicable in this era of division, exclusion, and distrust.

Pendel Mission to Cuba: Part Two

The Salvation Army of Eastern PA and DE (Pendel) recently returned from Cuba on a special mission – to renovate the Salvation Army of Cuba’s current headquarters facility into a guest house. The guest house will provide income for the Cuba division and fund the construction of a new divisional headquarters. Additionally the group is engaging Cubans with music and arts ministries, as well as conducting the Sunday Services at the Central Corps.

The Pendel division has given tremendous support financially to this effort, including:  donated linens for the guest house, laptops, instruments, uniform shirts/ties/socks, toiletries and assorted items which were stuffed in the luggage and horn cases!

This is part two of their journey:

Pendel Mission to Cuba – part one

The Salvation Army of Eastern PA and DE (Pendel) is in Cuba this week on a special mission – to renovate the Salvation Army of Cuba’s current headquarters facility into a guest house. The guest house will provide income for the Cuba division and fund the construction of a new divisional headquarters. Additionally the group is engaging Cubans with music and arts ministries, as well as conducting the Sunday Services at the Central Corps.

The Pendel division has given tremendous support financially to this effort, including:  donated linens for the guest house, laptops, instruments, uniform shirts/ties/socks, toiletries and assorted items which were stuffed in the luggage and horn cases!

Here are details of their journey so far: