Emergency Response

TESTIMONIAL
Norma Weaver, Divisional Social Services Director
The Salvation Army, Heartland Division, Peoria, Illinois

I was working at the South Side Mission in Peoria when the Emergency Response Services program began.  Since the beginning of the program, I have interacted with the staff as they provided services for homeless individuals, who were residing in shelters or who were still living on the streets.

Many of the individuals that we serve do not have the monetary means to assist them with receiving a mental health assessment, when mental issues are present that hinder the individuals from functioning normally.  The crisis counselors are dependable, compassionate, and always professional.

The ERS staff helps to assess and then create a plan for individuals who are in crisis. Without the assistance of the ERS staff with these services, many individuals would not be able to stay in the family or men's emergency shelter programs or participate in the community soup kitchen activities. The following are examples of how ERS has helped us:

    * A shelter resident told The Salvation Army case manager that she was contemplating hurting herself.  The case manager called ERS staff to provide an on-site evaluation.  The ERS staff assessed the resident and determined that a plan could be created to provide short-term counseling until the resident could receive services at the Human Service Center.  The resident could call ERS staff anytime day or night as she felt the need.  The planned services gave the resident immediate assistance and what she needed to allow her to continue her stay at the shelter. She eventually received long-term counseling.

    * A teenage boy attempted suicide at the family shelter.  After this crisis, the ERS staff was asked to provide counseling services for the shelter staff.  An ERS staff member provided weekly training classes to review the mental health issues that many of the shelter residents suffered from and to learn ways to assist residents while they were suffering.

    * When a soup kitchen participant with a mental illness became agitated and needed emergency counseling, ERS was called to provide services.  Without the immediate services from the ERS staff, the individual would have been unable to continue receiving on-site meals.

I believe ERS benefits the community in many ways.

1.  They can provide services on-site.
2.  They bring a calming spirit to the individuals during the crisis.
3.  They are familiar with all services available for individuals in crisis.
4.  They are able to recommend and secure mental services the individuals need immediately.
5.  They are able to provide guidance to the staff after the crisis with suggestions on how to assist the individuals that were in crisis.
6.  They are able to provide training concerning mental health issues for the staff of social services agencies.

As Divisional Social Services Director, Weaver manages and provides support for the Social Services programs of The Salvation Army in the Heartland Division, which includes twenty-six Salvation Army Corps (facilities) in central Illinois and eastern Iowa, with 12 shelters and two child care centers.  Social Services programs  provide lodging and meals in shelters, child care centers for infants through 6th grade, on-site soup kitchens, and comprehensive emergency services (food pantries, rent assistance, utility assistance, prescriptions, clothing, etc.)