If you pass by HALO in Salisbury just before mealtime, chances are you’ll see a line stretching from the door along the front of the building, with few cars in the parking lot. More than 300 meals are served daily at the café, and not all recipients are guests at the shelter.
HALO, Hope and Life Outreach, is an emergency shelter, café, and resource and respite center combined at the long white building at the corner of South Boulevard and Eastern Shore Drive, just behind the Acme plaza. They started with a shelter for women and children in 2008, and now they run a multitude of ministries with plans to add more. Their goal is in their motto, “Love ‘em like Jesus,” and that’s exactly what they try to do.
“I want people to see the homeless in a different light, that they are human beings. You’ll never look into the eyes of someone God doesn’t love,” explained Angel Simpson, administrator for clinical services and the Journey of Hope program.
Here are some basics. More than 100 guests can sleep overnight at the shelter, explained executive director Celeste Savage. There is a women’s section that can also accommodate single mothers and their children, a men’s section, and rooms for 10 guests who are in the long-term Journey of Hope program. Movable walls, made possible by a recent “Make a Room” fundraising campaign, have been formed into hallways and rooms for the women. The men’s section is a large open area, with an array of beds and bunks, and cots can be added if needed. Guests can stay up to 90 days, then after a 60-day exit, they can return if needed for another stay. Each guest is assigned a case manager to offer compassionate and practical help.
HALO Café is open daily to anyone who needs a meal. Breakfast and lunch are served Monday through Friday and dinner is served seven days a week. On the weekends, Saturday and Sunday, bagged breakfast/lunch meals are distributed at 7:30 a.m. Café seating was donated by the local Chick-fil-A a few years ago.
The shelter provides emergency housing from 6 p.m. from 7:30 a.m. each day, and weekdays, guests are welcome at the respite center, 8:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Resources and support for housing, job hunting, legal aid, etc. are available for anyone during those hours.
In the early days of HALO Ministries, Savage said volunteers would go directly to homeless camps, taking food, coats and blankets. HALO became a registered non-profit in 2007, then operated an emergency “Code Blue” winter shelter for 34 women and children the following year in the old K-mart plaza. The next year, they began leasing their current space, a former building supply company, and opened year-round. “We continued leasing the facility, but what bothered me was this building sat empty during the day,” Savage recalled.
She contacted local agencies and, in a round-table discussion, they brainstormed solutions to help the homeless population, and dinner at HALO was begun. Breakfast and lunch followed soon after. As the ministry grew, so did their space and they leased the next section. But there was one overarching question: “How are we helping these ladies move forward?” Savage said. That’s when Journey of Hope was born. She describes it as a “life-change program” which guests commit to attend for nine months; they can stay at the shelter for that duration instead of the maximum 90 days. They receive a biblical foundation as well as being taught life skills by volunteers.
Just a few shout outs: employees from Hebron Bank teach financial lessons like how to use a debit card and how to improve your credit score. Pampered Chef rep Michelle Moyer teaches a two-week class on shopping, nutrition and how to prepare healthy meals. Lord’s Landscaping from Delaware teaches how to grow herbs and plants, and Pohanka Automotive sends a representative to teach how to change the oil in a car, check tires, and how to purchase a used vehicle. For single moms who need childcare, volunteers (all have had background checks) are on site to watch their kids so the moms can take classes. HALO staff works hard to eliminate any barriers to success for their guests.
When guests finish the program, they are treated to all the pomp and circumstance of a typical graduation, Simpson said. Three individuals graduated just last month and were recognized at a special ceremony. The program has been so successful, according to Savage, that their graduates are welcomed for employment and rental situations.
Recognition is important at HALO. During a recent tour, Simpson highlighted a wall with individual pictures of nearly every person who has been helped at the shelter. Guests enjoy seeing their photos on the way to the chapel for Sunday night services, Simpson said. Local churches take turns leading worship services, and attendance for guests is mandatory. Providing hope through a relationship with Jesus Christ is the first step to lasting change, Savage said.
Who is welcome to use services at the shelter? Anyone, Savage said, with one caveat – no sex offenders. They will accept someone who has been drinking, but “as long as they are not causing a ruckus,” she continued. “I’d rather they’d be in here rather than getting hit or have something happen out on the street. These are hurting individuals.”
Drugs and alcohol are not allowed on the premises, however, so when a person seeks housing at the shelter for the first time, they are told the rules and it’s confiscated. If a guest tries to bring it in a second time, that person is not allowed in the shelter. Addiction is a known problem among the homeless. Savage explained, “To ease the pain, they turn to something. Some turn to alcohol. Some women turn to men. I’d say a vast number of ladies have experienced sexual abuse.”
To get people the help they desperately need, Savage said HALO is connected to many local agencies, such as the Life Crisis Center. Through the resource center, guests can receive job training, help with resume writing, and be referred for legal aid and healthcare. Guests can shower at HALO, and they can use the laundry facilities if they volunteer in the community two hours a week. Some guests might volunteer on site, Savage said, but the goal is for them to be involved in the community and be proud of their contribution. Guests more than likely need clothing, too, and they are given “HALO dollars” to purchase a few outfits from the HALO thrift store on Snow Hill Road, a ministry that exists to help the community and help fund the shelter.
HALO Bargain Center, as the thrift store is known, in turn, depends on the community for its donations and items can be dropped off during business hours. Some might remember the store as the location of Jack’s Religious Gift Shop many years ago, and Jack incidentally was Savage’s brother. After Jack Savage passed away, the opportunity arose for HALO to purchase the building.
HALO is privately funded and supported completely by donations from individuals, businesses and community groups. Savage explained HALO will not accept any contributions that would cause them to compromise their message to share Jesus Christ. HALO’s biggest annual fundraiser, Visions of Hope, brought in thousands and the list of donors is a seemingly endless list of local businesses and community members. The early December event featured a living Nativity scene and a performance by the Transformation Choir, all guests at the shelter.
As HALO has continued to expand, the next big undertaking is to open a mental health shelter on site. Individuals come in who are schizophrenic, bi-polar or with other severe mental health issues, Savage said, explaining that therapists, counselors, psychiatrists and a certified nurse will provide treatment for guests.
Working with the homeless population did not come naturally to Savage, but she had a major perspective shift. “I had a business. But I caught this little attitude that I was somebody – and I wasn’t,” she remembered. “I lost the business but I thank God for that because without that, there’d be no HALO.”
And now that there is HALO, their mission is clear. “We’re here to love people, care for people, be kind to people, no matter who they are,” she said. HALO’s goal is to provide a place, provide structure and provide love. “I call it compassion with accountability.”
Volunteers are always welcome to serve at HALO, and many help serve meals in the café. Contact HALOministry.org for information and follow them on Facebook. Here is a list of current needs.
Another local shelter will be featured next in this series.
