Displaying items by tag: Salvation Army

In the UK, 64% of people have noticed an increase in deprivation in their communities this year. This surge, linked to cost of living concerns and the global situation, is dampening Christmas spirits for many. Major Estelle Blake of the Salvation Army has highlighted the combination of financial stress and loneliness affecting people, with examples of older individuals riding buses all day or spending hours in cafes for minimal social contact. The Salvation Army aims to bring comfort and connection, not just through material aid but through genuine human interaction. This year, it is distributing 76,000 toy parcels and providing 3,000 beds for the homeless. Major Blake urges Christians to reach out to those in need, offering food and companionship, especially during Christmas. She emphasises the importance of long-term engagement beyond the holiday season; the Salvation Army operates residential and emergency pop-up centres in collaboration with other churches. Major Blake herself plans to spend Christmas Day with those in need.

After continued work by the Salvation Army, a campaign to reduce the stigma around deaths caused by alcohol and drugs has gained the support of MSPs in Scotland. ‘See Beyond - See the Lives - Scotland’ hopes to use testimonies of people affected by deaths caused by addiction to shatter myths about substance abuse, and encourage more compassion. At a Holyrood reception MSPs Miles Briggs and Monica Lennon shared their experiences of losing their fathers to alcohol addiction. Their letters are included with fourteen others who have written to their loved ones on the campaign's website. In her letter, Monica, who attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings with her father in Glasgow as a teenager, writes: ‘A whole lot of life happens when you are waiting for rock bottom. Part of me always believed that you would fall so hard that recovery would follow. There were times it was too difficult to be around.’

Slavery has deep, far-reaching roots in today’s society. Hidden in plain sight, it is hard to distinguish and harder to tackle. The criminals preying on vulnerable people for profit are highly networked within communities and across borders. Even when people are rescued from exploitation they can face complex and challenging routes to rebuild their lives and move forward. Despite this, there is much to be hopeful about. There is a wealth of expertise and dedication in the wide range of organisations pitted against these crimes and advocating for survivors. From police forces and criminal justice systems to businesses, charities and national and local government bodies, the trafficker is being attacked and the survivor supported on all sides. The Salvation Army holds the prime contract in England and Wales to deliver support to survivors of slavery. It thanks everyone who works with them, bringing creativity, expertise, time and resources to find solutions.

New quarterly London figures reveal that one in three rough sleepers are under 35. The Salvation Army warns that many young people are on the edge of homelessness. The Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) quarterly report released on 1 February showed 2,949 people slept rough in London between October and December 2021, a 1% rise on the previous quarter. 45% of them were sleeping rough for the first time. The Salvation Army said, ‘When tackling homelessness, prevention is better than a cure. By the time you have no choice but to sleep on the streets, the road back to health, housing and happiness can be a very long one. While the CHAIN figures give a snapshot of rough sleeping, our research shows how close so many young people are to the threat of homelessness. There is no easy solution and many will need ongoing support to help break the rough sleeping cycle.’

Many homeless people sleep outside in doorways, parks, bus shelters, or other unsuitable places. They often have complex physical and mental health needs with root causes that are complex - relationship breakdown, mental health issues, addiction or childhood trauma. These are not issues that can be tackled quickly; people will often need help and support for many years to ensure they never end up back on the streets. The Salvation Army warns that people risk dying on the streets this winter as the cold weather continues to bite, even though new government figures for England and Wales show a slight decrease in deaths of homeless people. When it is very cold, the Salvation Army works with local councils to keep people as safe as possible, putting the homeless up in communal spaces in Lifehouses and operating a number of night shelters run in partnership with local churches.

On 27 November, around 7:30 am, Nei was having breakfast with her husband, Yasa, and saw about ten unknown people visiting Naka, at a nearby house. Soon after that terrorists Ali Kalora and Jaka Ramadan entered the house and took Yasa and Nei outside. Yasa was tied up, stabbed in the back, then decapitated with a machete. One of the terrorists, near Yasa’s house, gave a signal to villagers to flee, allowing several witnesses and children to escape. Naka and his son Pedi were set on fire, as was their house and eight other homes. Terrorists also torched the Salvation Army house of worship. Another Christian, Pinu, was stabbed to death. Approximately 750 people fled their homes after the attack. Police suspect militants with allegiance to IS carried out the violence, as the leader of the outlawed group was seen at the scene of the crime.

New research by the Salvation Army shows that millions of people risk being unable to access their sickness benefits due to faults in the Universal Credit system. Researchers found that 85% of people surveyed struggled to complete their claim. Of these, nearly 60% cited not being able to use a computer or not understanding the complicated system as the main problems they faced. Thousands of vulnerable people on low incomes - particularly those with mental illness - are at risk of destitution because they do not have the skills or support to apply for and maintain a UC benefit claim. There is ‘overwhelming evidence’ that many people find it a struggle to engage with the mainly digital benefit, leaving them unable to pay rent or buy food and effectively locking them out of employment support.

Thousands of Salvation Army members, officers and supporters are joining forces to warn the Government that, unless urgent action is taken, it is on course to break a manifesto pledge on rough sleeping. The pledge was to end rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament, but since 2010 there has been a 165% increase in people sleeping on the streets. The church and charity has called on its members, officers, employees and supporters in England to ask their local MP to lobby Government to prioritise funding to tackle homelessness. The campaign coincides with a recent poll which found that 68% of the public did not think the Government would deliver on its commitment to end rough sleeping. Anyone can take part in the campaign by going to the Salvation Army campaign page:

The Christmas Challenge is the UK's biggest online match funding campaign. Since 2008 it has helped raise over £98 million for thousands of charities. In 2018 it raised £13.3m for 589 participating charities. This year the challenge will be between 3 and 10 December. Every person who pledges a donation to one of the participating charities will have their gift matched by Christmas Challenge, so that every donation will make twice the impact on charities working to improve human rights, rescue animals, support the disabled, elderly and homeless, ending child slavery (International Justice Mission), caring for those in poverty (Salvation Army), and many more both at home and abroad.

The Salvation Army assisted the writers of ITV's Coronation Street in making the story of Alina, a victim of modern slavery, realistic and sensitive. The storyline aims to help the British public spot the signs of a potential victim while it highlights the practice of human trafficking in the UK. The Salvation Army has held the UK government contract to support adult victims of modern slavery in England and Wales since 2011. As experts in the field of human exploitation, it has helped the show to display accurately how victims might find themselves in these situations and the realities facing them. The Salvation Army said that Coronation Street is very good at taking up issues that people are living through. This is one of those issues that is relevant and happening in our society.