New faces lead Salvos

GLENN and Kerry Smith moved from Launceston to take up the role of Leongatha’s Salvation Army Corps officers last month.

“We worked for three years as officers at the Kings Meadows Corps but we have worked with the Salvation Army our entire lives,” Mr Smith said.

The couple moved to Leongatha on January 12 and have settled into their new home with two year old son, Malachi.

“Leongatha is a very friendly town. There is a real sense of community connectedness,” Mrs Smith said.

While the Kings Meadows centre ran smaller operations, the Smiths have risen to the challenge in overseeing a number of services at Leongatha.

“It has been a learning curve for us so far,” Mrs Smith said.

“We offer services in emergency relief, case management, financial counselling, positive lifestyle programs and the Mainly Music program, which will recommence this week.”

Between operating the Leongatha Corps, Mr and Mrs Smith serve as chaplains for Salvocare Eastern.

“We also have Sunday church services and our cafe operates Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9.30 until 11.30,” Mr Smith said.

The Salvation Army has also changed the way it approaches its clients in the community.

“We have implemented the doorways model where clients can come to us through a number of avenues,” Mrs Smith said.

“They can come to us through the church, through the cafe or through one of our workshops.”

Mr Smith added, “We have also focused on solutions which help clients to overcome the underlying problems in their lives rather than just offering immediate bandaid solutions.

“We want to implement changes that will help people in the long term.”

New faces: from left, Glenn and Kerry Smith moved from Launceston last month to take up the role of officers at Leongatha Salvation Army Corps.

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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Feb 2 2016. Filed under Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry