New administrators of Decatur's Salvation Army have big plans, need community's help

Sep. 23—The new administrators of Decatur's Salvation Army said they would like to reopen its shuttered emergency homeless shelter if they can secure funding through public donations, government grants and partner agencies.

Sergeants Jim and Rebecca Lahman, who celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary last month, didn't know what to expect when Salvation Army command assigned them to the Decatur post.

"We've never been to Alabama before," said Jim Lahman. "We love Decatur. It's a small town — it's very similar to our town that we're from in Ohio."

Before relocating in June, the couple lived in New Orleans where Rebecca Lahman worked for the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center. It is a faith-based work therapy program for people struggling with alcohol and substance abuse. Jim Lahman worked in information technology.

"I wanted to encourage the men going through the program by attending their graduations," Rebecca Lahman said. "All their graduations were during chapel, so (Jim and I) went to chapel with them on Sundays when the guys were graduating."

The Lahmans weren't affiliated with a church at the time, having recently relocated to New Orleans and with COVID-19 disrupting social engagements. After Jim Lahman was asked to lead the music portion of the service, the couple began to attend regularly. Things quickly fell into place.

"It was a natural progression," Jim Lahman said. "We needed a church anyway and this seemed to be where God was leading us."

When a Salvation Army colonel asked the couple if they ever considered becoming officers during an Adult Rehabilitation Center retreat camp north of Atlanta two years ago, Rebecca Lahman said it felt like God was leading them there, too.

"We had a long talk and then that kind of began the process, because we felt like we could be officers," she said.

While pursuing administrator roles, the Lahmans first had to serve as Salvation Army soldiers for around a year. Eventually, they were promoted to the rank of sergeant, which corresponds with a non-commissioned officer rank in the armed forces. Typically, Salvation Army supervisors are commissioned officers, such as lieutenants or captains. Sergeants are a relatively new role, according to the Lahmans.

"Considering we've both been saved for over 20 years, and I had a business background and she had a background in service, and we'd been in multiple churches — we moved around a lot so that I could have an IT job and we would serve in multiple churches in multiple different ways — they felt that our background would work out well," Jim Lahman said. "It was kind of a new thing, because that's not the normal track that most administrators go into."

At first, their new positions required a lot of back-and-forth to the divisional headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi, for training.

"We still have different training, but most of it's online now, so at least we're not traveling for that and we're here and able to establish a routine and get to know the people we're serving," Rebecca Lahman said.

The Lahmans enjoyed the support of Salvation Army administrators in New Orleans. In Decatur, where they're calling the shots, they've had to look for guidance elsewhere.

"We've been relying on our board and people who know the board, the employees, and what people and other agencies tell us are their needs," Rebecca Lahman said. — Homeless population

Since taking over administration of the Decatur office, which oversees Morgan, Limestone and Lawrence counties, the Lahmans have reinstated clothing vouchers for needy families and, with the help of 3M employees through United Way's Day of Caring, prepared three additional apartments for habitation through the transitional housing program. The program is designed to transition unhoused families to more permanent living situations.

"They have two years to live here, and during that time they have goals to meet, whether it's education, financial, career, anything like that," Rebecca Lahman said. "We check in on them weekly or monthly depending on where they're at to make sure they're accomplishing those goals and then how can we help them, that kind of thing."

The Lahmans were accustomed to seeing homeless people on the streets of New Orleans. While unhoused people are less visible in Morgan County, the Lahmans said there is still a big need for local homeless services.

"Typically, we have about 200 people in Morgan County who are not sheltered each night," Rebecca Lahman said. There are even more in Athens, she said. The Salvation Army currently operates social services for Athens residents out of their thrift store at 17795 U.S. 72, as there are no other facilities, such as shelters, in Athens.

Salvation Army's Decatur shelter, at 114 14th Street S.W., closed for repairs in 2021 and never reopened. The Lahmans would like to change that.

"That was the only emergency shelter in the county, so we are trying to get funding to open that back up," Rebecca Lahman said. "But, in order to do that, we have some remodeling that needs to be done. They're 50 years old and they've not been renovated, and then sitting empty for three years was kind of the nail in the coffin."

Their biggest obstacle is air conditioning. The cost to replace one of the faulty units in the emergency shelter is tens of thousands of dollars.

"The Salvation Army doesn't have funds like that set aside for that kind of thing," Rebecca Lahman said. "It would be through partnerships with different agencies, and possibly government grants and donations from the public."

If repaired, the emergency shelter could house anywhere from 18 to 24 people. Other plans include increasing the food pantry to once a month, rather than once a quarter, and hiring a social worker.

"We are in desperate need of a social worker," Rebecca Lahman said. "Part of the problem is that it's not very good pay, so they have to want to have kind of a ministry rather than a job."

Jim Lahman said he'd also like to beautify the grounds and facilities to make them more inviting.

"All that does is show that we care about the shelter, because we do, and we want people coming to it because they know that we'll provide them with good service," he said. "We'd like for the community to know that we're here."

The Lahmans said Turner Construction has been vital in helping with smaller projects to get the facilities up to snuff, such as plumbing and light fixture repairs. They've also been working with the North Alabama Coalition for the Homeless to assess the needs of homeless people in the community. Rebecca Lahman said she plans on reaching out to Hands Across Decatur as well.

"Our big goal is really to develop community relationships especially with other agencies so we can make a big impact together," she said. "The way people can support us is to donate goods, by shopping at the store, and of course cash donations and volunteering."

— david.gambino@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.