Where There’s Need: An Exposé on The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army was founded in 1865 by William Booth, a Methodist preacher who believed that he could bring East London’s destitute and marginalized to local churches by providing them charitable services. Though, due to discomfort by said churches with the notion of letting the poor attend, the Salvation Army quickly became a church in itself. 

The Army is no doubt most noticeable in the winter when they launch their yearly “red kettle” campaign, in which Salvationists post themselves at street corners and outside of stores, ringing bells to bring attention to their red donation buckets. For many, the red kettle campaign is the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of the Salvation Army. For others, though, the Salvation Army is associated with bias and bigotry. 

In 1998, the Salvation Army’s San Francisco branch expressed an incapability to comply with local ordinances that mandated that any city-contracted organization providing spousal health insurance must provide the same benefits to any variety of domestic partner. This decision ultimately cost the Salvationists 3.5 million dollars in city contracts and led to the closure of some programs, including ones that would have served the elderly and the homeless. 

In 2001, the Salvation Army attempted to make a deal with the Bush administration which would have seen to it that federally-funded, religious charity organizations would not be under any obligation to abide by local, anti-discrimination laws, namely ones which prevented hiring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. 

“I do know that the current policy of the Salvation Army is not that… there’s health coverage for domestic partners and everything, current to whatever the current law is, and the Salvation Army does not lobby the government on these issues,” said Robert Brennan, Media Relations and Communications Director for the Salvation Army of Southern California, when asked about this and, more specifically, whether it was representative of the contemporary Salvation Army. 

When inquired about the role of LGBTQ+ peoples in the contemporary Salvation Army, Brennan spoke positively: “The Salvation Army is like any organization that uses human beings. We’re not perfect, but no one who comes to the Salvation Army looking for assistance is ever turned away, regardless. That is what the Salvation Army does. There are some things out there on the internet, stories that just are not true. Salvation Army is only about the needs that someone may have. They’re homeless and they need a roof over their head. That’s the need. And we do not discriminate.”

Brennan continued this positive outlook while discussing if all of the Salvation Army’s shelters were welcoming spaces for LGBTQ+ peoples, “I can speak to the Salvation Army units that I know first hand in the Southern California division. We have LGBTQ employees, we have clients and we make accommodations for them. Actually, in Las Vegas, there is a shelter just for LGBTQ homeless teens. So, we’ve got a track record.” 

Whether or not the Salvation Army is tolerant of the LGBTQ+ is quite important. According to studies conducted by Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, LGBTQ+ youths are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than their heterosexual counterparts. Furthermore, according to studies conducted by True Colors United, while only 7% of American youth are LGBTQ+, 40% of homeless youth are LGBTQ+. 

“When an LGBTQ+ person finds themselves experiencing homelessness, one of the factors often is family and community rejection. I work with LGBTQ+ youth facing housing instability and the majority of them are disconnected from their families because of the queer identity. So the ‘safety net’ that others often have when they fall on personal or economic hard times isn’t always there for LGBTQ+ folks,” said Kevin McCloskey, Director of Community Based Programs in the Children Youth and Family Services Department of the LA LGBT Center, when asked about unique aspects of homelessness while on the LGBTQ+ spectrum. “Many people who identify as Trans or Gender Non-Conforming, when accessing services at shelters and social service agencies, often find people who aren’t willing to use their proper names and pronouns and sometimes that are not able to stay in a shelter that matches their gender identity.”

When questioned on the reliability of faith-based organizations for LGBTQ+ youth, McCloskey responded, “That’s a pretty broad question. However, I would say that most faith-based organizations that I am familiar with that serve those experiencing homelessness have their heart in the right place. While their personal, religious views may not fully embrace the queer community, the focus of these agencies is to help people to get housed and access services. In some cities, like San Diego, it is the faith-based organizations that are leading the way in providing services to folks experiencing homelessness.”

The Salvation Army faces a multitude of controversies related to its homophobic policymaking attempts. Most recently, Jeremy Reedy, Captain of the Everett, Washington Salvation Army, was found to be a “proud boy.” The Proud Boys are an alt-right organization that has appeared at many Trump rallies and counter-protests against demonstrations hosted by advocacy organizations like Black Lives Matter and numerous pro-LGBTQ+ groups. On his private Facebook page, Jeremy Reedy has shared one image depicting the phrase “infidel” in Arabic, another mocking the death of Eric Garner at the hands of the police, and, in photos of Proud Boy gatherings, can be seen flashing the “White Power” symbol. As a Salvation Army captain, Jeremy Reedy and his wife stopped a public feeding service that served the homeless, citing issues of drug use and illicit deals occurring amongst said homeless peoples. 

Robert Brennan said, when confronted about this and asked if the church was aware of and disavowed such behavior, that “The church does not get involved in political points of view and it also encourages its officers to do the same, whether it’s on their Facebook pages or in their everyday conversations, whether it’s someone ringing a bell at Christmas time, we’re not there to engage people in our own political thoughts and desires, we’re there to do good for people and if there have been situations where Salvation Army officers or an employee does not follow those dictates, that’s something the Salvation Army would not be in favor of.” 

McCloskey suggests listening to the experience of the community when deciding which organizations to support: “I think organizations with the stated purpose of providing services for folks experiencing homelessness and not with the purpose of ‘saving souls’ or ‘winning people to Christ’ are more likely to be able to be trusted. However, I think hearing from the experiences of LGBTQ+ folks who access services is the best way to hear about how organizations are doing and if they can be trusted.”

https://lalgbtcenter.org/about-the-center/contact-us

Attached is a list of facilities maintained by the LA LGBT Center, contact information included.