The Salvation Army will be taking out their “Canteen” truck around town December 6 at 6 PM. The truck is ready to go with stacks of winter clothes and warm meals to give to those who don’t have a warm place to stay overnight.
“You’ve got to do it because there are individuals that for some reason they don’t want to make that trip. They don’t want to walk here for different reasons. Or they just wait until someone approaches them. And that’s what it is. But these temperatures they’re going to get low and it’s scary. We don’t want anyone out there,” says Erica Hitt, Social Services Manager.
The plan is to pick up those who are homeless and take them back to the Salvation Army during the freezing temperatures.
“When you throw in mental illness, some individuals don’t even recognize or realize what the cold temperatures can do to them. And that’s why we approach them and they’re like ‘Okay I’ll go back to the shelter’. That’s a success for us. We want everyone here,” says Hitt.
If they don’t want to go back to the shelter, they are more than welcome to have winter items such as gloves, hats, blankets and beanies. Anything to help them survive the night.
“None of us want to see a death because of the frozen temperatures. It’s almost like, we take it personal. That’s what we do. That’s our mission. That’s our ministry. That’s what we’re here to do, is save people, you know, help them in any way necessary. So you know, them being out in the streets, that’s not what we want to see,” says Hitt.
The shelter says they work solely off of donations and anything helps. If you want to drop off donation items, they are in need of coats, gloves, blankets. You can drop them of at the Salvation Army on 1614 Avenue J.
