By Robert Barron, Staff Writer
When Sharon Swinford hurt her knee and had to be off work for a while, she nearly became homeless.
Swinford had been giving money to a roommate to pay the rent, and it was not being paid. It wasn’t long before she lost the apartment she was living in and found herself without a home.
Someone recommended she go to Salvation Army, where she found a room and meals until she got on her feet again, literally and figuratively, and now she works for the same organization.
“It’s the only place in northwest Oklahoma for women who haven’t been abused,” she said.
Swinford was given a room and meals until she recovered. When she returned to work, she was placed on transitional status but was offered the job with Salvation Army before she moved. Now she works 29 hours a week and receives a salary, plus room and board, which allows her to save money.
Her job consists of cooking in the kitchen and working in the office.
“I cook a lot of meals, but I couldn’t ask for a better job,” she said. “If not for the Salvation Army, I don’t know what I would have done. I would have been on the street. I’m 50, and I’m too old for that.”
Having no income for a month can be devastating, Swinford said. In the Salvation Army’s transitional program, 25 percent of her income goes to help pay for room and board, but she said it still allows her to save money and possibly buy a car.
To enter the Salvation Army program, participants must have a picture ID and no arrest warrants, and they must be sober. However, Swinford said the Salvation Army seldom turns people away. The rules specify if the participant leaves he must stay away for 90 days.
“I would recommend it for anyone in the same situation. If not for them, I don’t know where I would go,” she said.
Participants live in a dormitory-style room with individual beds and baths. They’ve access to a television and small library. While in the dormitory, residents must leave at 8 a.m. each day and not return until 5 p.m.
“They want you to find a job,” she said. “Otherwise it just becomes a flop house, and this definitely isn’t a flop house.”
