Salvation Army reevaluating programs offered, changes to come
By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on August 9, 2024.
asmith@medicinehatnews.com ANNA SMITH asmith@medicinehatnews.com Local Journalism Initiative The Salvation Army is looking to the future and evaluating current services in the city, though what this may look like remains to be seen. This review of services has been brought on primarily by a potential change in venue, says Maj. Al Hoeft, divisional secretary for public relations. “Right now, our lease in our current space where we operate the meal program is coming to an end, and so it means that what we have to do is reevaluate our programming in the way that we’re providing it,” said Hoeft. He explained that current programming is likely to continue right up until the end of the lease, which will occur in October. This evaluation is still in the early stages, said Hoeft, and as such, details on what programs will continue after the lease ends are still unavailable, but should become clearer closer to October and after the fact. “We are evaluating where we want to go, and how the Salvation Army wants to continue to make an impact in the community,” said Hoeft. “And if that’s a food program, we have an opportunity to explore that. But if it’s something else, then we want to explore that, too.” The Salvation Army is looking to determine what will best suit the needs of the community, and to provide services that are not simply duplicating existing services that already exist in Medicine Hat. Hoeft cautioned against continuing with existing services solely for the sake of continuing them, and said they want to find what will do the most good for the city. “We’re not really as interested in just doing the same old, same old, just because we’ve done it for a long time,” said Hoeft. “We really want to do programming that’s going to have an impact in the community in the long run. Our goal is to see lives changed and hope provided in the community.” He encourages those who make use of the Salvation Army’s programs to say tuned in the coming months for more information as they make the most of this opportunity for change, and decide the new direction they want to take in Medicine Hat. Services may change or experience interruptions once the lease is over. However, Hoeft was quick to assure that the Salvation Army Thrift Store will not experience any changes, as they own that space and intend to continue running it for the foreseeable future. 15-14
