The Power of Standing Together

How the Salvation Army changes lives

Joyce Johnson

Breaking free of the homeless cycle

Though Joyce grew up in public housing in Brooklyn, she felt certain she would someday escape the tough streets. She enjoyed school, got good grades and eventually went to college.

But when her father was diagnosed with cancer, she left school to help with medical bills. Things went further downhill when she married a man who used their money for drugs.

Although Joyce worked full time, without a college degree she struggled to get out of debt. “I felt like I was in a revolving door and I couldn’t get out,” she says.

Eventually, Joyce found the strength to get a divorce. She was financially and emotionally bankrupt and something she never expected — homeless.

Joyce sought refuge in The Salvation Army’s Franklin Women’s Shelter in the Bronx. At first she was terrified at the prospect of living in a shelter, but soon she began to feel solidarity with her fellow residents.

Staff caseworkers met with her regularly to help her understand the root causes of her homelessness and create a plan to get her back on her feet. With her caseworkers’ help, she was accepted to a rental assistance program for people who work full time.

Joyce now lives in her own apartment in Far Rockaway, Queens, and her newfound stability has helped her excel at work and get a much-needed raise.

She also has a new, compassionate perspective. “Before I got in the shelter, I am not going to lie, I turned my nose up at people who needed one,” she says. “Well guess what? It turns out, so did I.”

Ricardo Taylor

Overcoming peer pressure to fulfill college dreams

Ricardo Taylor was fifteen when his family moved from Jamaica to New York City, but the reality of the United States contrasted starkly with their dreams of prosperity. Ricardo’s father, a mechanic, had a hard time finding steady work, and his mother could only secure odd jobs.

Ricardo faced difficulties adjusting to school in a new country, and his new friends were rebellious and not interested in academics. They flunked classes, ran the streets, drank and partied.

Though Ricardo was well-liked, he was not sure he wanted to have that kind of lifestyle. He wanted to go to college, but had no idea how the application process worked or how his family would afford it.

Ricardo found the answers he needed in The Salvation Army’s Urban Youth Leadership program, which helps low-income, minority high school students get into college and make it in the workforce.

Every day after school, Ricardo headed to a Salvation Army community center in East Harlem, where he was paid to tutor at-risk elementary school students in the GAINS program. This gave him a sense of responsibility and money to contribute to family expenses.

Once a week, he attended workshops on topics such as interview skills, how to apply for financial aid and college essay writing. He learned the American college admissions process and visited colleges around the country.

With the help of his UYL mentor, Ricardo enrolled in classes at a local community college, where he says he was “richly rewarded with college credits.” He also gained work experience while interning at the college over the summer.

Ricardo is now enrolled at Hofstra University, where he participates in community and financial development programs. He plans to major in Political Science, join the Student Government and take on challenging internships.

“The tremendous impact of The Salvation Army has left its mark,” says Ricardo. “I have a wealth of information and a wealth of skills.”

Captain Salvacion Coralini

Leaving worldly goods behind to help others

“My life is like a movie,” says Captain Salvacion Coralini, an orphan who was raised by her aunt in the Philippines. She grew up to study engineering in Manila and went on to marry an extremely wealthy Italian businessman.

“We traveled around the world,” she recalls. “I had nice clothes and diamonds, but I was never happy. It seems there was something missing in my life.”

She gathered the courage to leave her husband and wealth behind and came to the United States. Though she was penniless, she and a friend volunteered with The Salvation Army at its 1996 Thanksgiving Dinner.

“I saw The Salvation Army in action, and they were feeding people. I had just left a rich man, and here I was, poor, homeless, just like these people in line. But I felt released.”

Captain Sally, as she is now affectionately called, began attending Salvation Army church services in Flushing. After many struggles to obtain a student visa, she entered the School for Officer Training in Suffern and became an Officer.

On her first assignment in Newark, she encountered clients with HIV and AIDS for the first time and realized how many people The Salvation Army served were affected by this destructive virus. Captain Sally has now become an expert on the ravages of HIV and AIDS through her daily work at the Belmont HIV Center, the Franklin Women’s Shelter and the Bronx Citadel Corps. She attends workshops and classes to further her knowledge of the disease and how to help those affected by it.

At the Belmont HIV Center, she assists with financial management classes, helping clients learn to balance medication, groceries, rent and utilities on a limited income. She also provides spiritual counseling to help people overcome their fears of living with the virus and become responsible for caring for themselves.

“In your heart, you have to first learn to accept yourself and take responsibility,” she says. “Then focus your mind on getting a relationship with God and you will have peace of mind.”