ORLANDO, Fla. – The Salvation Army does so much good for so many people, like the annual holiday Angel Tree program providing gifts for thousands of children and seniors.
Every year, News 6 partners with the Salvation Army and Angel Tree to make sure no one is forgotten.
But now roles are reversed: the Salvation Army needs your help.
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Natasha Player, Salvation Army Florida Division public relations manager, said the Men’s and Veterans’ Shelter at 624 Lexington Ave., Orlando, is failing.
“For decades, the Salvation Army’s Men’s and Veterans’ shelter has been a refuge for those in our community who need it most,” Player said. “But as the years have passed, this vital facility has become worn down and outdated. Every day, thousands of hot meals are prepared in a broken-down kitchen and every night, we operate at 100% capacity in our crowded dorms, offering beds to over 115 men who have nowhere else to turn.”
Player said the ceiling is leaking. The kitchen and laundry room can’t keep up. And the shelter is out of space.
“It’s a lifeline for men facing unimaginable hardships,” Player said. “However, to continue serving our neighbors with the dignity and care they deserve, we urgently need help.”
Capt. Ken Chapman gave News 6 a tour of the crumbling building.
“We have leaks and all of these buckets,” Chapman said. “We’re actually running out of buckets for the leaks that come from the first floor in the 50-year-old building.”
The freezer floor is rotting and the freezer itself is on the brink. A grease trap in the kitchen overflows regularly onto the kitchen.
“We call a cleaning service, we have to pay for that,” Chapman said. “And we keep on with our business. We do not let this building stop the services that we offer every day in this community.”
And the shelter is out of space.
Chapman is asking the Central Florida community to step up and help raise enough money to modernize the building.
A full, necessary renovation will cost $8 million. Chapman said the City of Orlando, Orange County and a private donor have pledged together $4 million - but he’ll lose those funds if he doesn’t raise the remaining $4 million by December.
“Demand for our services has increased 38% in just one year,” Chapman said. “There are people who can’t afford groceries and rent.”
Chapman said if he cannot renovate the building, all of the services the shelter provides — daily hot meals, showers, laundry, job searching, and a warm bed every night — are at risk.
“Eventually we’ll have to close the building down,” Chapman said. “It just won’t be habitable. We got to stop serving. We have no choice. And I don’t know how that could be a week away. It could be a month away. I don’t know.”
Chapman said he’s happy to give tours to anyone interested in assisting. For information and ways to contact the Salvation Army, click here. You can also donate by scanning the QR code below.
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