Local Salvation Army takes leap of faith

by John Dowd

The Ravalli County branch of the Salvation Army has taken a leap of faith in doing something they know will help those in need around Hamilton. However, without community support, they could have bitten off more than they can chew.

Recently, according to Fidelis Temukum, the service center coordinator in charge of the Ravalli County Salvation Army location, they decided to act on the need they have seen in the community for laundry service. 

Temukum says they have good clothes for people who want to wear something nice to a job interview, and they can help people in a lot of other ways, but the importance of clean clothes is clear.

“We want people to feel the dignity of being human,” said Temukum, and to him, often that means having clean clothes. 

The need has only grown lately, since the nonprofit, Loads of Dignity, left Hamilton. That group’s absence has left a huge vacuum, said Temukum. Now, people in need must go to Corvallis, where that group works out of a local laundromat. 

“A great number of people she used to serve live here in the community,” Temukum added, referring to Loads of Dignity’s founder, Stefani Jackson. Many of those people do not have a vehicle or a form of transportation to get to Corvallis.

The local Salvation Army also gave vouchers in the past for a local Hamilton laundromat, but that got very expensive. It could cost $20 per family, and often they would have multiple loads. This was costing the organization over $1,000 per month.

Seeing the need, Temukum and his team decided to add their own laundry space, though they didn’t have the money to do so. They ordered two sets of stackable washer/dryer units. Having two washers and dryers will help do a lot of loads. Temukum said these are not residential machines, but commercial equipment.

This equipment is expensive, but Temukum’s team believes the machines will be more efficient and allow them to help more people. They will also be “something that will last.” The washing machines, according to Temukum, will do a huge load in 30 minutes and the same for the dryers. That would mean, with two sets of these, they could help up to12 families in a day. 

To order the machines, they took a leap of faith and put the downpayment forward. In total, for the laundry project, they will need $15,000. So far they are about $6,000 short. They have already installed the space and plugins for the machines. 

According to Temukum, the people they see that need the laundry service are often elderly, not just what people traditionally think of as homeless. He said that because of the housing crisis in the valley, many of these elderly live out of mobile homes or trailers and often do not even have running water. 

Some of these people, who receive social security benefits or other forms of assistance, may only receive $800 to $1,200 per month. They cannot afford homes, or assisted living and they are also past the age where they can work effectively.

“Laundry service would be another blessing to the community,” said Temukum.

The laundry equipment is on order but they hope to have everything operational by the end of October. Temukum said he is not worried, even though the deadline is coming and the machines will need to be paid in full by the time they are delivered and installed.

“We have really good people in this valley,” said Temukum. “People are so generous and they really want to help.” He said they know every dollar they donate stays in the valley and helps the people right here.

This year will be Temukum’s ninth year with the Salvation Army, and it will also be the first year they have operated without any grants, which adds to the critical situation. They did receive small donations from various places, but according to him, federal, state and non profit grants were simply not available to them. Though they are sponsored by the Salvation Army, that only does so much. On top of that, so far donations have been low this year and they were not able to help in a lot of the ways they normally do. One area that felt the hurt was their rent assistance, which they could not afford to offer this year. 

“Those are things that are really limiting us from meeting the need,” explained Temukum.

The center has two showers and they supply everything for a shower. One room is set up specifically for families with children, giving them a private space to bathe in. 

The center also has a new lobby space with wifi, coffee and an area where people can just come talk and visit. The lobby has computers for those looking for help applying and looking for jobs. The Salvation Army team can help with everything, including building a resume.

“We don’t want to encourage young people to come in here and ask for money if they have the strength to work,” said Temukum.

Temukum was also proud that they were still able to send kids to the Salvation Army youth summer camps. This year they sent 20 kids, at a cost of about $1,500 for the week. Hundreds of youth go to these camps from the Northwest region, and Temukum said this is an exceptional opportunity for these youth. 

Temukum also wanted to remind the community that winter is coming and they offer services to help people in need get rooms for the night. They work with several motels in the area, but will struggle this year to do that. They prioritize women with children and “work with hotels to save lives,” said Temukum.

Looking towards the holidays, Temukum wants to let families know that for the Salvation Army Christmas event, families should sign up early so the organization can find sponsors.

Temukum highlighted the Ravalli County Federal Credit Union and Farmers State Bank, noting that they do a lot in the background for the Salvation Army, and are instrumental during the Christmas event. 

For parties interested in donating to the local Salvation Army Center, checks can be mailed to the office. They do not take cash, but checks can be turned into the office in person. Checks could be made out to the Ravalli County Salvation Army, and many donations will go directly to helping to pay for the laundry project. 

The center is located at 217 N. 3rd, Suite B2, Hamilton. It is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Laundry last loads will be at 2 p.m. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, interested parties need to make an appointment for shower and laundry use. The Salvation Army in Hamilton can be contacted by calling (406) 210-1453. 

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include the correct location of the Salvation Army in Hamilton.