Salvation Army Provides Hope and Empowerment in New Facility

With a full house, The Salvation Army San Bernardino welcomed guests to the grand opening of its new Citadel Corps Community Center on Saturday afternoon, May 9. Standing in the chapel of the new 10,000 square foot building, located on the old Banner Elementary School site at 2626 Pacific Street in San Bernardino, several guest speakers spoke on the trials and the triumphs made in opening the new location. "Through good years and some bad times... the Salvation Army has persevered," said Major Stephen Ball, the former San Bernardino Corps Officer who, during his leadership, first toured the site where the new community center now stands. Ball recounted briefly the series of events which led to the acquisition of the property by the San Bernardino corps, who previously were operating out of a small facility in downtown San Bernardino that required several repairs - repairs the corps did not have the funds to fix, shared Ball. Ball shared he and the corps had been looking for a new place to open a state-of-the-art community center, but had no luck. It was a fateful phone call by Bruce Herwig, the owner of Banner Elementary School, that changed the tide, shared Ball. As Ball and his wife, Major Nancy Ball, toured the 6-acre site, Ball said he was unsure how the corps would afford it. "Bruce looked me in the eye and said, 'I want you to know I believe in my heart that you're standing on the future Salvation Army site,'" Ball recounted. Eventually, the City of San Bernardino purchased back the Salvation Army's older property in downtown San Bernardino, helping the corps move into the new site on Pacific Street. With several buildings now on site, including 10 classrooms, the Salvation Army may continue to run programs including feeding the hungry, after-school programs, church services every Sunday, disaster services, laundry services and provide an Emergency Shelter and Transitional Living Center, all operating 365 days a year, officials said. Currently, the Salvation Army assists over 2,000 people each month, but the new site will allow those numbers to rise, explained officials. And while the zip code of the facility is technically in Highland, the site will serve residents of San Bernardino, as well. Tom Brickley, Chairman of the Salvation Army San Bernardino Corps Advisory Board, shared, “I especially want to thank Jack Katzman, Advisory Board Property Committee Chairman, and all the parties who came together to address and overcome all the design, construction, permitting and inspection process: the City of San Bernardino, Salvation Army property experts, contractor, architect, Major Dan Henderson and his staff. Without such a collaborative effort , this phenomenal facility would not be available to those most in need of it and all the lives it is going to impact for the better in the greater San Bernardino area.” "We are so excited for this new building that comes with the ability to serve significantly more people in the community," said Major Daniel Henderson, administrator and pastor of The Salvation Army San Bernardino. A special thank you goes out to Jack Katzman, the property committee chair; through his knowledge of real estate development his skills and connections, Katzman was able to maneuver through pitfalls and red tape to help facilitate the completion of this facility within two years and at 50 percent less cost. Katzman humbly replied to this statement, "The amount of effort to complete this endeavor is shared by many people; certainly Major Henderson and his staff went above and beyond the expectations of the committee. The City of San Bernardino rallied around this project in spite of the current low resources, and without their support this project could never have happened.” Assemblyman Marc Steinorth of the 40th District gave the keynote address, speaking on empowerment. "We're all working together for one goal: empowering our community," said Steinorth. "For those who have nowhere to go, we will be there for them. We will be the voice for those who don't know how to use their voice. This building is a representation of what we have in our hearts: God. We will empower people through our words, through our deeds, and through our actions." Following the ceremony, guests were invited to take tours of the facility.