Salvation Army Application: Fill & Download for Free

That they regularly pulled in $100,00-$150,000 per year working. I was convinced as a child that we were lower middle class. Growing up, I wasn’t allowed to buy a pair of shoes that cost more than $20.00 until I was in middle school.I had to save up to buy my own 27″ tv when I was 10.My parents barely furnished the house and rarely bought furniture. In fact, they kept a sofa set for so long and wore it out to such an extent that Goodwill and the Salvation Army wouldn’t accept it as a donation.They were excessively frugal. Evidently they stacked all of that extra cash in to their retirement. The second house they bought, they paid slightly more than their combined annual income.They also claimed the only way we could have “nice” things in the house would be if we lived in a trailer, because we could either have a “nice” house or nice things in the house.I was under the belief my parents made about $50,000 per year the way we lived. I found out after reviewing my financial aid application and FAFSA in college how much they actually made. My father alone made more per year than most state court level judges and attorneys in my area.The only debt they had was their mortgage and car payments. They lived during a time where it was common to pay your way through college. They also had no real consumer debt.Now that I’m much older, I fully understand HOW MUCH $150,000 per year really is. The type of standard of living that brings is quite comfortable. There really is no reason there should have been such anxiety when I grew up about buying a $300 TV or a new couch.

The occupation of a counter-signatory is specified to try to ensure that someone is of 'good standing' in the community. I would presume that like a minister of religion, an officer in the Salvation Army would be considered of good standing.It is interesting that they list the Salvation Army separately from other denominations but I would guess it is because they have a wider charitable status where more of their people hold positions (as officers) rather than just the ministers.

I was homeless for a while and it's no fun. Regardless of the weather, heat wave or pouring rain, we were booted out at 8 a.m. and could not return until 5 p.m. and dear god not a minute sooner. Even though I was working and didn't have to be at work until 2 or 3 in the aftermoon, I had to leave. I usually caught the bus to the library and stayed there. It's boring. By the time I'd get to work, I'd be tired, and on hot days not exactly fresh. On days off, I generally spent most of my time at the library. At least there I had computer access, but that time was limited. At the shelter I was in, we had to save 80% of our pay, so we had to eat at the Salvation Army we couldn't afford to buy food.At another shelter in another city, we were out at 7 a.m. rain, shine or snow. I dpent some time in a winter shelter, a warehouse next to railroad tracks, that we were bussed to. We had to line up outside the building the Salvation Army fed us in starting around 4 p.m. and wait until 7:30 at night. When it's 20-25 degrees outside and snowing, that's really hard to cope with especially if one has insufficient cold weather gear. My feet would be so cold that I could barely feel them. On the return trip, we were bused back and dropped off at 6:30 a m. in the dark, half an hour before their community room opened. It was pretty brutal. If you were sick, there was a clinic for the homeless. One could go there for treatment, but if you just had a cold, tough luck. This was in northen Utah.The cops were horrible. They would not let us sit down on the sidewalk or even lean against the wall. They were awful. I saw them ticket a guy for littering because he flipped his ashes on the ground. They really were terrible. When you're already down the last thing you need is to get kicked. They did it all the time. It made life there hell. Shortly before that I was employed and paying my state and federal taxes. Tough luck I guess.I find it really sad that there seems to be so little concern for the homeless in some places. I admit that prior to being homeless, I didn't think much about the homeless. Having a degree didn't help me find work. I fact, I lied on my applications saying I had a year or two of college and not a bachelor's degree because that made me over-qualified. However, having that degree helped me see how people like myself were treated and how wrong it was to waste talent, education and experience. We are a throw away society. Really sad.I'm happy to say I got out of there and finally got back on my feet. I don't want to ever be in that position again, and I will, of course, never look at the homeless the same way again.