A ground-breaking achievement: The Salvation Army Community Center of Hope

After a long stretch of dreary, stormy weather, the sun broke out in full force across most of Southern Mississippi today, signaling brighter days ahead in more ways than one today.

Today, the Salvation Army in Gulfport hosted a ground-breaking that is sure to bring brighter days to struggling families right here in our own community.

It was a picture-perfect day for a long-awaited moment. Gulfport Ward 3 Councilwoman Ella Holmes-Hines said, “The rain is gone and God gave us the sunshine!”

Holmes-Hines was among those on hand at Monday’s groundbreaking for the Salvation Army Community Center of Hope in Gulfport. Salvation Army Area Commander Major Bradley Caldwell said, “We’re thankful that the Lord has actually opened the doors to make this day possible, actually breaking ground, getting the building actually started so families can be helped in the future and make a real impact on their lives.”

The Community Center of Hope will provide eight apartments, transitional housing for families right here in the area in need, but this community center of hope is about more than just providing a roof over people’s heads. Salvation Army Area Commander Major Anita Caldwell said, “It’s about breaking generational poverty, the idea that we never have to come back for help again. We want each family to leave us with basic life skills and the plan for their future that will make them solid citizens in our community. It’s a community journey to support and surround and help the families thrive. That’s what we want to see. We want to see them thrive, and become strong citizens, never to need assistance again. That is our dream and our hope.”

It’s time to lay the foundation and build from the ground up. Once complete, there are renderings showing what the Salvation Army’s Community Center of Hope will look like. “The Community Center of Hope is not a shelter. It’s not an emergency resting place. It’s a program designed to move families out of this and into their own housing, hopefully with a stable income and hope for the future. It’s about making change and transformation, not just a holding pattern.”

And hope, the community center couldn’t come to fruition at a better time. “The product has to be that we are in God’s time. Even though we didn’t understand why man kept saying no, and man saying the Salvation Army couldn’t come home. God said yes, and our timing is now. We can get grants and opportunities we didn’t have 15 years ago. It’s needed now in this COVID pandemic and in the wake of Hurricane Zeta. It’s hard to figure how many families are suffering and loss of jobs. This is so important right now.”