Salvation Army in financial straits

Havre’s Salvation Army is going through a financial crisis, Social Services Director Trina Crawford said.

“We are $5,000 down from this time last year with the needs greater than before,” Crawford said Sunday in an email.

The money shortage, caseworker Heather Hummert said today, is the result of multiple factors, including that the long winter has demanded more from their emergency services budget.

“It’s been a sliding slope since December,” Hummert said.

Expenses from helping people with utility bills, lodging and gas are all higher than they were last year, she said. The long cold spell has spiked people’s heating bills.

Another reason for the fiscal hole is the Salvation Army has received less in funding this year, Hummert said, while services have demanded more.

“We’re simply not getting the money from the community we usually get,” Hummert said.

The budget crisis has caused the Salvation Army to reduce its services to the necessities, Hummert said. But, she added, she believes this shall pass. Havre has a history of meeting the challenge when it comes to charity.

“We feel confident this community will step up,” she said. “We trust in God.”

Hummert said there is no talk or plans of shutting down the Salvation Army.