The Salvation Army Sarasota County

John Maccracken

A Great place lf you are broke they will help you. The street team is a good program. Hot program Good too. Danielle and Tony case managers for street team are very helpful.They care if u make it and will try to help you if they can.

Lori Loftus

Three years ago I fell on hard times, pick yourself people,stop being dependent, this is not your home.

KimGB

This "spiritual, non-profit agency" has been a bitter experience of discrimination, neglect & greed. Staff, particular staff are abusive towards clients & get away with it. The $12 you pay includes breakfast, dinner, showers & a thin jail mat on the floor. You'll be woken up at 4:30AM to wait an hour outside for breakfast. You'll be thrown out all day until dinner. After dinner, you're thrown out again until 7 - 9PM (New procedures begin at 4:30PM for paying & signing in for the night). Sleeping on the floor is HORRENDOUS for anyone with Severe Osteoarthritis & other forms of Chronic Pain. Employees don't provide accommodations if you have medical conditions you struggle with, even if you have a doctor's note, in some cases. No one will help you get into a program & housing if you really need the help. Instead, those who make no effort are the ones who receive all the help with getting into permanent housing. My experience as an Overnight Shelter Guest has included being the target of discrimination. I've been banned several times due to distorted lies about me & my medical problems. I was even banned for an entire week during the cold weather after 2 days of being unable to wake up at 4:30 in the morning after I finished a program which allowed waking up later in the morning. This ban forced me to sleep in my car. Update Feb. 2022: My experience of being in a program consisted of being expected to do everything all by myself. I was never informed about the entire process of getting successful permanent housing. I can't produce housing vouchers out of thin air. I mostly received no help, or on rare occasions, the most minimal assistance. At the beginning of the program, my neglectful case worker clearly said: "You're not going to benefit from the program...housing vouchers are too much work & they expire before you can use them." She did NOTHING to help me during the time I was in the program. I had no idea what to do except to blindly sign up on waiting lists for different places. I was bullied by the others in the program, which became the main focus of my time there. While I struggled with finding housing, those who made no effort or were fraudulent about their "disability" & those who broke nearly all the rules were awarded with housing vouchers "for life" & endless time in the program doing nothing to participate. On the other hand, my time was terminated after 30 days strictly based on being bullied. The only option my case worker had for me was to move into a house with housemates, share a room with one of them & pay most of my SSI benefits for rent, leaving me completely broke. I refused due to a similar traumatizing experience I had once before. Your best bet is finding another form of temporary housing rather than wasting your cash & time at an agency that won't help those who need the help.

Carl Kurtyka

I just brought someone there who was in need. And a Gentleman who work there came out and discovered that my friend had just got out of detox so he made sure that his first night was free and the next 3 nights would be free also! It was a direct answer to prayer and I really appreciate and thank God that the Salvation Army was there tonight when I needed them to be. God bless you Salvation Army