Ragamuffin: poverty | part 1

Setting the stage

O

ur corps ministers to the poor through social services and education, as well as spiritual ministries of the corps. Defining the poor can be difficult. The poor in our area includes immigrant populations and various racial groups.

Our primary poverty group is the Hispanic immigrant who comes to our corps for social services. Our social services include our food pantry, rental assistance, utility assistance, English Second Language (ESL) classes, GED classes and our employment program.

The Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible states, “Whether a man’s poverty was due to his own sin or to someone else’s, the OT saw it as an evil to be combated, and the law made many provisions for the relief of it (e.g., Ex 22:21–27; Lv 19:9 10; Dt 15:1–15; 24:10–22). God cared for the needy, and expected his people to do the same” (Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Thus, we feel an obligation as a part of our ministry to serve the poor in our community. It is who we are as Christ-followers.

The Des Plaines corps serves five cities in the Northwest suburbs of Illinois, USA. In our last community assessment report in 2005 from the United Way, we see that our Latino population is near 14% and increasing (2005 Northwest Suburban United Way Community Assessment Report). In the last three years, the Latino population has increased dramatically.

In our community we have various service agencies that also help the poor. Some of these agencies are Catholic charities, CEDA Northwest, Center of Concern, various government agencies, Northwest CASA, Volunteer Center of Northwest Suburban Chicago, WINGS program and the YMCA. Some of these offer counseling, as well as material assistance, to poor families based on a sliding scale payment. Many of these agencies, as well as The Salvation Army, help via crisis support, support for vulnerable populations, child development, youth engagement, health, mental health, job training and access to housing.

The United Way Community Assessment report reveals five critical areas: lack of transportation, affordable housing, affordable daycare, support for families in crisis and the growing immigrant population. Other community issues that The Salvation Army faces, along with these previously mentioned, are homelessness, disaster preparedness, low income families, services for the working poor, unemployment and counseling needs.

Northwest Casa in our area helps with sexual violence, community education, which includes sexual assault and abuse. CEDA Northwest helps with emergency housing. The Center of Concern provides transitional housing, primarily for women and families.

The Salvation Army of Des Plaines, Illinois provides emergency assistance to the Des Plaines and surrounding communities. We help problem solve with people in crisis, through assessment, service plan, and intervention, which often includes supportive assistance and linkage to other Salvation Army and community resources.

We provide emergency assistance to people during crisis situations and referrals to other community resources. We offer scholarships for low-income families providing children and adults the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of summer camps where they can learn new skills, make new friendships and develop a sense of competence.

We offer our programs free of charge. The Salvation Army provides a safe environment for children to be involved in various programs that prepare them for the future with new life skills. At our location we also provide professional counseling through our Family Counseling Center. Counseling and casework services for adults and families that face economic, emotional or relational crisis find support through our counseling center on a sliding scale payment based on income. We are endeavoring to make a difference – by the help of God.

Ragamuffin appears every Monday on theRubicon. Find past Ragamuffin posts and a bio of Capt. Jay Davis here.

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