Take a look behind the doors of the Launceston Salvation Army | Winter Relief 2017

The Salvation Army in Launceston offers a holistic approach to support services at its Launceston complex for anyone who may be experiencing hardship in all its forms.

Everyone who walks through the Salvo’s doors needs something different; from accommodation support, financial support, to basic things like food or even just a shower or a washing machine to wash their clothes.

But all of those things are available at the Salvation Army’s Elizabeth Street premises.

The Salvation Army is just one of the four charities The Examiner supports during its Winter Relief Appeal.

Salvation Army social operations manager Anita Reeve said the appeal was invaluable as it allowed them to target the funds directly into support services that are needed.

“We take every donation we receive, whether its monetary or goods, it is all helpful, but sometimes money or gift cards can be more easily distributed,” she said.

The Salvation Army operates a food support program through its food room, where it distributes donated food to those who are in need.

All the food is donated by the public and by corporate partnerships such as Coles and Banjos.

Ms Reeve said Banjos donated bread weekly for the food room and Coles also made regular donations for Salvation Army clients.

The food room is volunteer-run and operates by appointment or through its case work.

“We have five appointments each morning for people to take; we actually allow them to come in and select what items they want,” Ms Reeve said.

“We found that if people were given a box of food there was often things in there they didn’t like or things they couldn’t eat – people have allergies and different things.”

Ms Reeve said the food room was the main service people accessed at the Salvation Army and that demand for the service spiked during winter.

“We have found the instances of homelessness has increased exponentially, so we are seeing more people access the service,” she said.

“The cost of rentals; rental affordability is having a significant impact.”

Kevin Walters has spent the last 30-odd years volunteering at the Salvation Army.

He is one of the supervisors for the Salvo’s food room and he will turn 79 this month.

“It’s lovely to see people, to see them leave with a big smile on their face,” he said.

Helping people is one of the reasons he has stuck around at the Salvos for so long, after his daughter, who works for the Salvation Army, asked her dad to lend a hand.

“I just like to help people,” he said.

However it’s not just clients who benefit from Kev’s volunteering – “it keeps me young.” 

He said spending time at the centre, picking up food donations, setting up the facilities for events and all the other odd jobs he does, keeps him fit and gives him something to do.

Mr Walters received an award this year from the City of Launceston volunteering awards for his work at the Salvation Army.

A growing demographic of people seeking help from the Salvation Army is the elderly.

Salvation Army assistance care and housing outreach worker Sue Wynne has been on the job for 12 months, working with elderly people who need help finding permanent accommodation.

She said often her clients were “trying to survive on a pension,” which meant a lot of rental properties were not affordable for them.

Some of her clients are those who are dealing with health issues such as dementia who are no longer able to stay in their current rental properties.

She said families were often older themselves and were unable to look after them. 

Mrs Reeve said elderly clients accessing Salvation Army services were an increasing demographic because of Tasmania’s ageing population.

She said she believed it would be a cohort that would grow into the future.

New parents who might be doing it a bit tough can also access programs at the Salvation Army – with a Doorways to Parenting program run weekly.

Doorways to Parenting offers new parents skills to bond with their babies.

Ms Reeve said some people didn’t have parenting skills passed down through their families and often couples were left not knowing what to do.

“There could be many reasons but for some reason or another they have never learned these things,” she said.

“And most of the time parenting is a bit daunting, when you don’t know what to do.”

Doorways to Parenting caters for pre-school-aged children but Ms Reeve said the Salvation Army could work with families with older children as needed.

The Salvation Army provides support services for lots of different people. 

In addition to the services listed above, the Salvation Army has a day drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, a parenting program and a safe needle disposal facility.

Those who participate in the drug and alcohol rehabilitation program can also participate in other follow up programs to help teach them life skills, such as cooking.

The site also has a cafe, which is temporarily closed, but is hopefully going to be back up and running by September.

Ms Reeve said the cafe was closed because it couldn’t break even but they were working hard to find a workable business plan for it.

She said once it reopens the cafe will be an informal space for people to come and have coffee and include a playground for kids. 

It will also be the site to offer hospitality and barista training for Salvation Army clients.

The Salvation Army also offers free breakfast every morning and has shower and washing machines available for use.

The Salvation Army facility is located on Elizabeth Street, Launceston.