Mustang pastors and volunteers are seeing more residents crying out for help, and they are worried the Salvation Army is turning a deaf ear.
Garry Odom, the Salvation Army's divisional director of service extension, said that isn't the case.
However, changes in the local group this year as well as decreased donations is forcing the newly reformed Canadian County unit to move forward cautiously. Since August, he said the chapter has offered $4,729 in aid to Canadian County residents.
“We have money in the bank,” he said. “We are getting a feel for how much we can do and still maintain our financial position. Our plan is to see how much money we raise in the kettle campaign, and we will meet in January to discuss the budget in 2010.”
Deepening need
Mustang Ministerial Alliance receives at least five calls per week from local residents needing help with out-of-control utility bills or buying a tank of gasoline to drive to a job interview, MMA treasurer Jim Harris said.
In November 2008, he said the ministers were able to fill most of the requests they received. One year later, Harris said they receive so many they can only help a half to one-third.
“The need is just that much more,” he said.
The national recession and climbing unemployment are the main factors, Harris said. The U.S. Department of Labor estimated unemployment in Canadian County at 5.5 percent in September, the latest data available. That is far below the national figure at more than 10 percent and the Oklahoma rate at 6.7 percent, but it represents a steep spike from 3.9 percent one year ago.
Another factor is changes within the local Salvation Army service unit, Harris said.
“Other groups that provide financial assistance to those in need in our community are no longer doing so or giving less support,” he said. “As a result we have become the primary group helping the needy.”
Odom said the Salvation Army has reinstated aid to Canadian County residents, although the processes to seek that help have changed.
“Certain practices that occurred under the old administration, the old board violated Salvation Army policy,” he said. “This committee is working hard make sure services are there but done the right way.”
Changing practices
The Salvation Army Divisional Command dissolved Canadian County's service unit in May after the committee's members tried to “disaffiliate” from the local United Way chapter. The local Salvation Army's funds were frozen while an internal audit was conducted, and needy residents seeking assistance were turned away.
During that audit, Odom said they found some Salvation Army policies weren't being followed in Canadian County. For example, while the former chairman had reported $52,000 was raised by bell ringers in the 2008 Salvation Army Red Kettle Christmas Campaign, Odom said they were only able to account for $38,749.75.
Odom said the internal auditors did not find evidence of any intentional wrongdoing and believed it was a discrepancy in estimates.
“There were questions, but we found no evidence of any fraud or anything illegal,” he said.
Another Salvation Army policy that wasn't being followed related to how people sought help. Previously, Odom said a few people controlled the distribution of Canadian County's donations when those decisions should have been directed by the local board.
Now the new Canadian County committee has established a policy for the needy to apply for help at Yukon Sharing or Community Action Agency in El Reno. Residents in western Canadian County can seek help at the El Reno office, while east Canadian County residents can file for help at Yukon Sharing.
A Yukon Sharing worker Barbara Hudson and CAA workers Margaret Baustert and Jacki Carpenter also serve on the Salvation Army board. When they receive requests for help from the Salvation Army, Odom said they are working as representatives for that charity and not Yukon Sharing or CAA. He said the locations were the most convenient to reach people in need.
The board has budgeted $1,500 per month to eastern Canadian County residents and $850 per month for residents in the western part of the county.
At first, Odom said Yukon Sharing volunteers were confused that the funding was for strictly Yukon city limits residents — the population that charity serves. He said the confusion was clarified months ago.
“The board tells them how much they can spend and for what purposes, and they do that,” he said. “Anything beyond that, they have to come to the board.”
In the past, the Canadian County service unit has also helped other civic groups. Mustang Kiwanian Glen Muse said the community food pantry usually receives $1,000 per year from the Salvation Army, although they received no help from the service unit in 2009, despite their requests for aid.
Odom said any aid other charities received was in violation of Salvation Army policy.
“It is our position that anyone who gives to the Salvation Army, they want the Salvation Army to have that money,” he said. “If they wanted to give, well, to the Kiwanis for example, they would donate to the Kiwanis.”
The local Salvation Army service unit can, however, create a partnership with other civic groups and work together on a project, he said, such as Santa's Toy Shoppe or El Reno's Blessing Baskets. Both groups have obtained separate non-profit, tax-deductible status.
Moving forward
Odom said the local unit is looking forward to the Red Kettle Campaign, which begins this week. Funds raised from shoppers at area Wal-mart locations will help drive charitable efforts in 2010, he said.
“I can assure you not one dime has left this county,” he said.
In August, Odom said the Salvation Army of Canadian County gave $1,114.14 for social service aid to area residents. In September, that amount climbed to $1,544.80, and between Oct. 1 to Oct. 21, residents received $2,069.91. Odom said he is seeking figures from 2008 to provide a comparison, but the data isn't yet available.
Besides the kettle campaign, Odom said Canadian County residents receive some utility assistance through Salvation Army partnerships with ONG and OGE. ONG's Share the Warmth brings $460 back to county residents each month between Nov. 1 to April 30, while OGE's Lend a Hand gives $200 to Canadian County residents per month.
Canadian County's patients in nursing homes received gift packets through the Salvation Army's League of Mercy program. In 2009, Odom said 25 cases containing 24 kits each were given to local nursing home patients. Funds for the program come from an envelope-donation campaign through area banks, and the money is sent to the Salvation Army area headquarters in Oklahoma City.
The local service unit has also received funding from the United Way of Canadian County, although its partnership was suspended this year. In the past six years, the local Salvation Army committee received almost $60,000 in United Way funding.
Even though the service unit's partnership is suspended, Odom said they still receive a little more than $500 per month through the United Way from donations donors earmarked for the Salvation Army.
“Our focus is to get off of suspension and get back in a good relationship with the United Way, become a full-fledged partner again,” he said.
That suspension in funding is another reason Odom said the new board is holding on tight to its purse strings as the new volunteers learn the ropes.
“They have been pretty tight with our budget so far because of what happened with the other group,” he said.

Increased need
When residents seek help from the Salvation Army and other community charities, Odom said their bills have snowballed to a point no one entity by itself can afford to dig them out. He said they may receive some help from the Salvation Army as well as Yukon Sharing or Community Action Agency to start making headway on overdue bills.
Yukon Sharing worker Barbara Hudson said there are other charitable organizations El Reno and Yukon residents can turn to, but, with the exception of the Kiwanis and ministerial alliance, Mustang lacks that depth of groups to ask for help.
“The people in Mustang are in a world of hurt,” she said. “We need other resources where we can send people.”
Because Mustang has such a need for the Salvation Army, Odom said he would like to see another volunteer from the community come forward and join the local board. So far one member of the 11-person board lives in the Mustang area. He said they want to make sure all areas of Canadian County are represented.
“If there is somebody with a Salvation Army-type mission from Mustang, we would certainly consider that person,” he said.
Locally, more people are seeking help, but the additional dollars aren't there, he said.
“Donations have been down,” he said. “That will certainly impact what we can do in Canadian County.”