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The diverse and practical ministries of the Monterey Peninsula Corps, Calif., are designed to reach local residents where they need help most.
The Good Samaritan Center is the only facility on the peninsula where homeless individuals can drop in for showers, meals, laundry facilities and computers. It’s not a shelter in the traditional sense, but with year-round access to five local hotel rooms, “Good Sam” can help in emergency situations.
To meet with long-term housing needs, Casa de las Palmas is a ten-unit transitional living center whose purpose is to enable struggling families to reclaim their independence from outside support.
Hundreds of local children see The Salvation Army as a center of community. The Youth Center and the Child Development Center operate all year to offer homework help, spiritual direction and positive influence for children through grade six, as well as a state-licensed preschool for the younger kids.
On monthly “Family Sundays” at the corps, all ages enjoy a united Sunday school and a family breakfast (cooked by volunteers from the congregation), followed by a praise meeting.
This year has seen the enrollment of six new soldiers.
The work of the Army is shared between two local corps and two major languages. The Hispanic congregation is led by Captains Francisco and Irma Flores; the English congregation by Majors Tedd and Cindy Lowcock.
Together, these two corps oversee the diverse social service ministries and deliver a consistent message of Christ’s love to local residents.