Beyond the Classroom

Beyond the Classroom

The Adventures of a PLUW Student-Intern Edition #4

Julie Butler

In a small town like Jacksonville—where small business flourish and most of the scenery is historic and grand, it can be easy to forget that some people are in more unfortunate circumstances than others.

There’s families that struggle to buy their children Christmas gifts, or even keep the pantry stocked with food. There’s those that scramble to find ways to keep their lights on at home. When citizens of a community are put in positions such as these, where can they go for assistance? Fortunately, Jacksonville does have the resources necessary for families and individuals that have to grapple with these issues, and more.

At The Salvation Army on West Douglas Avenue, Captain April Clarke gave me and overview of what the organization offers to its clients and why programs such as this are so pertinent to towns like Jacksonville. According to Captain Clark, The Salvation Army is important to Jacksonville for numerous reasons. One of the biggest is that it allows the unhoused population a place to go to get out of the elements during these cold, winter months. But that isn’t all The Salvation Army offers.

This organization also offers rent and utility assistance, along with other unmet financial needs. There have also been cases where people need help obtaining a driver’s license to get back into work. More recently, a “pantry” has been implemented so that clients can shop for food on Wednesdays from 1:15 p.m.-3:45p.m. Products that are offered include canned goods and nonperishables, breakfast foods, snacks and dry goods products, meat that is kept in a freezer, and dairy which is donated on a regular basis. This set up, which allows clients to shop for themselves, is helpful for those who need a personalized diet, as it allows room for health awareness in clients.

During the interview, Captain Clark explained that she grew up in a poor home environment and she frequented The Salvation Army in her community. In her time as a client, she was mentored, which made her want to join The Salvation Army as a worker. Because of her time as a client, she’s aware of the issues that frequent low-income families and individuals and is using that knowledge to grow the Salvation Army.

One project that Captain Clark is excited for are the new social and financial classes that will become available to seniors. This is important for clients of the Salvation Army because it will allow the seniors to eat lunch in groups and socialize with other seniors. This program will also teach seniors how to budget and will allow them to learn portion control for their meals.

One client case that has stood out to Captain Clark in her time at The Salvation Army happened rather recently. A client was out of work due to illness with COVID and was offered no sick time from their job. Therefore the client had no income for a whole pay period and was unable to pay their bills. The Salvation Army was able to give this client the amount of money they were behind on bills and get that family back to where they were before the client contracted COVID.

Captain Clark says it’s the cases like this that are important to recognize. Most of the people who volunteer or donate to The Salvation Army don’t realize how the organization is run or the degree that some clients are struggling. Captain Clark encourages everyone who can to donate monetarily or through volunteer work. To contact our local Salvation Army, call (217) 245-7124.

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