The Salvation Army – Shelter of Hope
Every year the Catawba County United Way is focused on supporting programs that work to improve people’s lives by providing safe and secure environments.
This is one of those stories from CCUW funded partner, The Salvation Army Shelter of Hope.
Alan entered the Shelter of Hope in 2020.
He is originally from Poland and has been in the United States since 1995. He is a certified welder and has done well in this field but began having problems when his scooter, his only transportation to work, was stolen.
He has an open police case regarding his scooter, but he is having difficulty getting things done with the case because of the language barrier. Alan can speak English, but because of his heavy Polish accent, he is hard to understand at times, especially over the phone.
During the COVID-19 Crisis, the only way he could communicate with anyone about his open case was over the phone.
The Shelter of Hope manger was able to call the police to get updates on Alan’s case.
This was the second time Alan has had a scooter stolen from him. The manager assured him by letting him know that it was evident that he had the strength to make it through this trial.
Alan started coming in for case management regularly and was able to start together to search for an employment solution. Together he and his case manager created a resume for him to take to job sites and to set him up with an email and a phone with the assistance from The Salvation Army’s Crisis Help Center.
He and his case worker created a North Carolina Jobs account as well and worked with the Soup Kitchen, Pro-Staffing and Manpower to find Alan a job and transportation as well.
Alan is now employed and is now working with his case manager to get into permanent housing. He did get his dream job as a welder and is doing very well.
Catawba County is filled with positive impact stories like this every day. To learn more about how CCUW’s funded partners impact lives in our county, visit THIS LINK.