The Learning Center
Afterschool program – Our Afterschool Program is designed for grades one to five. Children will focus on homework, emergent arts, character building and physical education. Snack and hot nutritious meal are provided to each child. The cost for parents to send a child is twenty five dollars per quarter (every three months) plus fifteen dollars per additional sibling. There is Financial Aid available for families who cannot afford full payment.
Summer Day Camp - Our camp is an eight-week program for children ages six to thirteen with breakfast, lunch and snacks provided. The youth will enjoy creative education programs to help address summer learning loss, weekly activities, and field trips. The cost for parents to send their children to camp is fifty dollars per week for one child plus twenty-five dollars for each additional sibling.
Camp Ladore - Campers aged 7-17 (depending on the session) attend a week-long stay at The Salvation Army’s summer sleepaway camp in the Pocono Mountains. Kids who attend will participate in nature study, swimming, boating, arts and crafts, music instruction, archery, hiking, organized games, ropes challenge courses, and more.
Housing
Rapid Rehousing - Clients who qualify for Rapid Rehousing will receive assistance locating a home as well as temporary monetary assistance toward their rent. Clients will also receive Case Management and obtain skills in budgeting goal setting. Case Managers will help clients apply for utility assistance programs. Case Managers also work with clients to find resources for medical, mental, and emotional needs.
Permanent Supportive Housing – Individuals and head of households who are disabled work with The Salvation Army to find permanent housing solutions. Clients in the Permanent Supportive Housing Program will receive rental and utility assistance as well as extensive Case Management. Clients will have access to our income-savings program and volunteer opportunities. The Salvation Army currently provides permanent supportive housing to over 30 families.
Life Skills Classes - All individuals in the housing programs have access to voluntary Life Skills Classes. We host presenters from all around the county who can teach clients about resume building, career opportunities, nutrition, violence prevention, coping mechanisms and more. Classes are every Wednesday morning. The Salvation Army hopes to provide members with sustainable skillsets through Life Skills Classes.
Family Services
Utility Assistance - Hundreds of individuals around the county lose access to basic utilities due to several reasons every year. Clients can work with our Case Managers to sign up for the UGI Customer Assistance Program (CAP) and UGI Operation SHARE. With this assistance, we have been able to provide heat and gas to people in need.
SHARE - We recognize that it’s difficult to move forward in today’s world when you don’t have access to necessities and assistance. SHARE helps provide the community with prescriptions, utility bills, security deposits, clothing vouchers, shoe vouchers, bus pass for employment purposes, small household repairs, and more.
ESG – The Salvation Army’s Emergency Solutions Grant helps people who have received court-ordered eviction, shut off notices, or dwellings not fit for human habitation. ESG can typically help an individual with either the full amount or a portion of their first month and security rent payment.
Food Pantry - The Salvation Army’s Food Assistance and Pantry program is designed to provide food items to families in need. These food items include but are not limited to: frozen and refrigerated items such as meat and dairy products, non-perishable items, fresh bread, pastries and produce.
Food Distribution is the last Friday of every month!
EFSP - Clients who need oil and propane for heat and cooking can apply for EFSP with the help of a Salvation Army Case Manager. EFSP can also help client manage overdue utility bills.
Holiday Programming
Thanksgiving Distribution - We hold our Thanksgiving Distribution every year on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. We provided over 950 families with a full Thanksgiving dinner in 2021.
Angel Tree - We provide warm winter clothing, toys, and other needs to children up to twelve years of age. Families’ sign-up for assistance throughout the month of October through an in-person interview with trained volunteers. Additionally, we provide seniors and veterans with small needs that they may have. In 2021, we served over 750 seniors and over 2,000 children. The Salvation Army distributed over 14,000 gifts and necessities to our participants.
Adopt-a-Family-Families with unique circumstances are identified and referred to local agencies, participating businesses and groups wishing to meet more comprehensive material needs of the family beyond toys for the children for Christmas and food. Each year, the Salvation Army facilitates the program for over 15 families.
Pathway of Hope
The Salvation Army developed the Pathway of Hope initiative to help families overcome barriers and to help them fight the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Pathway of Hope also introduces them to new skills and connections that will turn their current behaviors into constructive habits that can end the crippling cycle of poverty and crisis; ultimately resulting in less families requiring social services assistance. National in scope, but deeply local in application, this program connects families with the physical, emotional, and spiritual support necessary to change their lives. Our model is intentionally scalable, and strategically designed to simultaneously address three main objectives that are critical to efficient social services organizations: optimizing existing resources, increasing the impact of new resources, and empowering families to move beyond crisis to sustainable independence and self-sufficiency.
Importantly, the Army will continue to serve all those that come to us in need. However, Pathway of Hope requires us to be more intentional and focused with our resources to provide targeted services to those that have a desire to act and change the course of their lives, starting with families with children. This is important because we know that families often face a cycle of recidivism – where families move from crisis to crisis and remain vulnerable. By successfully offering a targeted set of services, rooted in strengths-based case management, we will help more families truly break the cycle of crisis and achieve stability.
Violence Prevention Program
Therapeutic Groups - The Violence Prevention Program provides therapeutic resources to children and their families. These groups consist of 10 consecutive weekly groups facilitated by a trauma-informed behavioral specialist. Anticipated outcomes will increase school attendance, grades, and interpersonal skills at home and in the community.
Case Management - The Violence Prevention Program Director will meet with each family to evaluate their needs and then refer families to appropriate resources within and outside of the Salvation Army. Clients receive case management monthly. Case management sessions will address concerns, provide support, make referrals, and follow up on the impact the groups have had within the family system.
Education - Clients are provided with violence prevention and social-emotional skill education. This will consist of classes for the children in the learning center, as well as life skills classes for the supportive housing program and Pathway of Hope program participants.