When someone ends up homeless, it’s often hard for them to find jobs and get back on their feet. The Salvation Army actively tries to not only shelter the homeless, but also prevent it from happening with their Transitional Program.
Here’s how it works: They start off in the Emergency Shelter Program and meet up with case workers to set goals and find ways to overcome barriers. Amber Munoz and her family were evicted from their house in April, leaving her and her family homeless.
“We exhausted all of our options for Lubbock and we came here and we’ve been here for four weeks,” said Amber.
They’ve been in transitional housing for about a week now. She says she knows she and her family are just one step closer to having a house of their own.
“The one thing in my head is my kids. My kids. We need a roof over our head. That’s my thing,” said Munoz.
It’s different from case to case, but some of those barriers the program helps with are things like identification, social security and disability.
“Employment, no savings account, bad debt with utility companies. There’s a lot of things that goes into it and you know, it takes a part of why this individual can’t get housing,” said Erica Hitt with the Salvation Army.
Amber knows her family has to start somewhere, which is why she won’t let this roadblock in life diminish their hope.
“When I need help, I get it, especially for the lives of my kids,” said Munoz.
“Unless you fix these problems, you are going to come back to homelessness. We want to fix. Fix those problems and then get you out of here,” said Hitt.
Hitt says there’s no time frame for this program and just in the past year 40 people have successfully finished it.
