Southern Spirit October 15, 2015 | Page 3

Day of Prayer for Human Trafficking Victims The Atlanta Temple hosted an event to help raise awareness about human trafficking and to call on Christians to pray for an end to this injustice... Page 3 A sea of red in Mobile Sharing hope More than 100 people marched through Mobile, Alabama, in the inaugural Recovery Walk to show support for people fighting to overcome addiction ... The Salvation Army’s Center of Hope is joining hands with its neighbors in Sarasota, Florida, to reach out to needy people ... Pages 4 & 5 DOING THE MOST GOOD www.uss.salvationarmy.org Page 6 thesouthernspirit A publication of The Salvation Army Southern Territory Volume 32, No. 15 October 15, 2015 Staying connected on campus By Laura Poff Southern Spirit staff ive years ago, Lt. Colonel Vern Jewett, then Florida divisional commander, envisioned a student center in the Tampa community that would bring together Salvationist college students from across the division into one home, offering affordable housing and a softer transition from home to Since opening, school. the Dickens Smith “We saw that there Student Center has was a need for affordable served 30 young housing for many of our own adults, attending Salvationist college students several universities who would otherwise not be and community able to step out from home colleges in the and have the college life,” Tampa area. said Captain Teresa Della F Monica, student residence manager. Captain Della Monica has led the student center, located near the University of South Florida campus, since it opened in 2010. She lives in one of the eight adjoining townhouses that make up the residential news inbrief European SA leaders gather in netherlands Nearly 50 Salvation Army leaders from across Europe met in The Netherlands over three days to discuss a range of issues critical to the ongoing provision of social program services. The conference, convened by Commissioner Birgitte BrekkeClifton, international secretary for Europe, was called to discuss, in particular, the future options and development of institutionalized care offered by The Salvation Army in Europe. In addition, the group spent significant time discussing difficult and sensitive social program policy issues which current legislative changes in various countries threaten to impact. These included the contentious subject of euthanasia facilitated within institutional care. Salvationist students meet every Friday for a hangout night at the Dickens Smith Student Center in Tampa. attended a corps for at least one year are eligible for housing portion and is on call 24/7 for pastoral and a spot in the house, provided that they continue to practical support and assistance for the young adult residents. The student center is just a short walk down attend an area corps and volunteer there for at least one hour per week. On Fridays, Captain Della Monica the street and is open throughout the week and on hosts an open hangout night and the occasional Saturdays to provide a space outside of their homes where students can gather, work and play. Please see CENTER, page 7 For $200 per month, fulltime students who have Disaster teams roll into action after heavy rains drench Carolina S ustained rainfall in widespread areas of South Carolina has caused persistent flooding and prompted a statewide response from The Salvation Army. Across the state Salvation Army personnel coordinated with state and local emergency management officials to serve the community in need. “The Salvation Army in South Carolina is responding to immediate needs in their local communities and ready to respond as needed,” said Mike Patterson, emergency disaster services director for The Salvation Army of North and South Carolina. “As the flood waters continue to rise , we know our response will increase and is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.” The Georgia Division, meanwhile, mobilized its disaster relief force to assist its neighbors to the east. Five Georgia canteens were deployed on a 14-day assignment. Three of the Georgia canteens were sent to Columbia and The best way to help survivors and relief workers is through financial contributions, which allow disaster responders to immediately meet the needs of disaster survivors. • To give online: Visit disaster.salvationarmyusa.org • By phone: 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1800-725-2769) • By mail: The Salvation Army Southern Territorial Headquarters P.O. Box 1959 Atlanta, GA 30301 Please designate checks “East Coast Floods” in the memo • By text: Text STORM to 51555 to receive a donation link for easy mobile giving. two to Charleston. Disaster crews from Atlanta, Covington, Elberton, Dublin, Vidalia and Savannah were among those joining in the Carolina relief effort. As of Monday evening, The Salvation Army is providing mass feeding and hydration support to several communities in North and South Carolina. Two locations provided shelter in their communities. The Salvation Army of the Midlands, in collaboration with other local organizations and agencies, provided mass feeding and hydration support at an Inclement Weather Center shelter in Columbia. In addition, Salvation Army liaison officers were assigned to the Lexington County EOC and the Richland County EOC. The Salvation Army provided support with mass feeding and hydration to the Orangeburg County and Sumter County emergency operations centers and to first responders at a shelter in Clarendon County. Meals were also served by Salvation Army disaster personnel in Fayetteville and New Bern, North Carolina, and in Conway and Georgetown as well as Marion County in South Carolina. In Greenville, South Carolina, the Army is operating a weather emergency shelter at the Rutherford Street Outpost.