You may recognize the Salvation Army by bell ringers, red kettles, and thrift stores, but the organization supports people all year who are working to overcome poverty, domestic abuse, addiction, isolation, and other things.
The Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Program provides a free drug and alcohol treatment program for those who are battling addiction. Both Tracie Dalke and Mitchell Jump have benefited from the program.
Dalke carried a secret for much of her life, and at the age of 27, she told her family she had been sexually abused by a family member. She was also going through other traumatic events, and she was looking for relief from her pain.
“I had a friend suggest to me to take some pills,” Dalke said. “Take some Xanax. That led to Oxycontin. That led to methadone. That led to heroin. That led to meth, and that led to a life of destruction.”
Jump dealt with injuries in his late teens and was introduced to pain medication, which ultimately activated his addiction.
“What I also knew is I had some social anxiety and some struggles, and when I took that pain medication, that went away as well,” Jump said.
He went from taking the medication as prescribed to abusing it and then moved into street drugs. His addiction tore his family apart.
“I drug them threw the mud for years,” he said. “And I’m fortunate they are still by my side to this day, and they’ve supported me through my journey.”
Dalke’s turning point in her road to recovery was when her son questioned if their life was going to get better after she had been in and out of jail and institutions.
“I had a loved one who was currently in the Salvation Army at the time,” Dalke said. “I saw miraculous changes happening in his life. I saw him putting his life back together, and I wanted what he had.”
In Seattle, the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Program helps residents combat their addictions, build the work and social skills needed to re-enter the workforce, regain health and stability and restore families that have been disrupted due to substance abuse.
“Addiction is a very ugly disease,” Jump said. “It strips you of everything, physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. What was very effective for me when I went into the program is they loved me until I could love myself.”
The program helped change both Jump and Dalke’s lives and supported them in their road to recovery.
“When everyone else turned me down, the Salvation Army said yes,” Jump said.
The Salvation Army’s "Love Beyond" message is to love beyond hunger, shelter and disasters to provide hope. It’s a symbol of the resources and programs that 30 million Americans rely on year-round from the nation's largest private provider of social services for assistance.
Learn more about the organization’s work and donate at the Salvation Army website.
Sponsored by the Salvation Army. Segment Producer Rebecca Perry. Watch New Day Northwest 11 a.m. weekdays on KING 5 and streaming live on KING5.com. Contact New Day.