Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 8-26-16 Online Edition

Local
Salvation Army’s New Leadership Believes In Self- Sufficiency
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
Since the announcement that the Salvation Army, and other social service organizations, would see reduced funding from the federal government, they have sought a variety of ways to change their model.
In Tampa, Captains Andy and Abby Miller have taken over command, and Capt. Andy Miller said there is a changing model in the way they look at people who are home- less.
“Because of my youth, I’m at a different stage in my life as far as recognizing the most critical components of helping those in need.
“We’ve had to phase out our transitional housing due to a loss of funds.”
Capt. Andy Miller said he doesn’t see their emergency housing program being im- pacted by the budget cuts, and they did get help from the Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative.
“We don’t want people to come into our shelters and be gone the next day. We want the opportunity to help them with permanent housing, and other things that will help stabi- lize their lives so they will become more self- sufficient.
“We don’t think everyone is aware of all of the services we can provide, and our predeces- sors didn’t bother using those assets. We aren’t going to change our model. We’re going to start making better use of what we already have.”
Capt. Andy Miller said they’ve met with a lot of people in city and county government about their mission, and what needs to be
done to create alternative funding sources.
“I think there are some who had in mind a different direction for the Salvation Army to go, like more permanent housing and less
transitional housing.
“We want people to be able to take care of
themselves on their own with some subsidies to help them, instead of them being fully de- pendent.
“We want to work closer with people to end their struggles and we just believe there are better ways to serve people.”
Capt. Andy Miller said they are also keeping a close eye on the possibility of them relocating from their Florida Avenue building.
“We’re very much aware of the city’s rede- velopment plans, and we know we’re in a tar- get area. We also know that there is an effort to put social services programs further away from the city to lessen the impact it has on sur- rounding communities and businesses.”
CAPTAINS ANDY AND ABBY MILLER
Early Voting Sites For Primary Election Open
Registered voters can cast ballots at any of the following locations during the early vot- ing period. Early voting began on Monday, August 15th, and ends on Sunday, August 28th.
Voters may also cast bal- lots at any of the Hillsbor- ough County Supervisor of Elections offices during nor- mal business hours.
The Early Voting sites in the community are open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Those lo- cations are:
Bloomingdale Public Library, 1906 Bloomingdale Avenue, Valrico;
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr., Public Library, 2607 E. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd.;
Fred B. Karl County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd. 26th Floor;
Jan Kaminis Platt Re- gional Library, 3910 S. Manhattan Avenue;
Jimmie B. Keel Re- gional Library, 2902 W. Bearss Avenue;
Keystone Community Center, 17928 Gunn High- way, Odessa, FL
New Tampa Regional Library, 10001 Cross Creek Blvd.;
North Tampa Branch
Library, 8916 North Blvd.; Plant City, Bruton Me- morial Library, 302 W. McLendon Street, Plant City; Riverview Branch Li- brary, 10509 Riverview
Drive, Riverview;
Robert L. Gilder Elec- tions Service Center, 2514 N. Falkenburg, Rd.;
SouthShore Regional Library, 15816 Beth Shields Way, Ruskin;
Temple Terrace Public Library, 207 Bullard Park- way, Temple Terrace;
Town N’ Country Re- gional Library, 7606 Paula Drive, Tampa;
Upper Tampa Bay Re- gional Public Library, 11211 Countryway Blvd., Tampa; and
West Tampa Branch Library, 2312 W. Union Street.
Voters will be required to provide one or two forms of identification. Acceptable identification includes: a Florida Driver's License; Florida ID Card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles; U. S. Passport; Debit or Credit Card; Military ID; Student ID; Retirement Center ID; Neighborhood Association ID; or Public Assistance ID.
FYI
The Census Is Hiring
The Atlanta Regional Census Office is hiring Field Representa- tives and Field Supervisors in Atlanta, GA, Greenville, South Car- olina and Tampa and Miami, Florida.
For more information visit www.census.gov/regions/at
lanta/www/jobs/ or direct questions to the Atlanta Regional Office Recruiting at Atlanta.recruiting@census.gov or via phone: 1-800- 424-6974, extension 53959.
PAGE 2-B FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2016