A lengthy, national search for a new executive director for the Salvation Army turned up a candidate right here in Onondaga County who worked for the organization eight years ago. Linda Lopez was introduced to the community Tuesday, and brings more than 30 years of experience in the human services field.
Lopez succeeds former long-time director Linda Wright, who accepted a state-wide position with the Salvation Army back in January. Lopez says much has stayed the same in eight years as far as the emergency shelter and food services they provide to the area’s neediest families. At the same time she says, much has changed, including the escalating need…
"Our community is in a position for the first time where we're really trying to look at chronic poverty," Lopez said. "What are the kinds of things that are not only going to help people point-in-time, what you need to do, but what are the things that will help them transition into more independent and self sufficient lives. That is new, and as a community, we're coalescing."
Lopez says chronic poverty also translates to generational poverty.
"I've been doing human services long enough in this community to know that there were individuals I served when I worked for other agencies, that I've seen their children, I've seen their grandchildren. So there are families in our community who have lived, generationally, lives in poverty."
But Lopez says the circumstances of poverty aren’t always so entrenched.
"There are also families who live right there on the brink," Lopez said. "It takes one crisis, and it doesn't even have to be a huge crisis, that knocks them right over the edge. There are also those who've had drastic health issues, and lost a significant job and have to rebuild. All of them take different strategies."
Lopez says a city-county initiative called Greater Syracuse Hope is in the planning phase, and aims to access state resources in an effort to shape a comprehensive response to poverty in the community. She says it can’t be approached with a single focus.
"There is a housing piece to poverty. There is an employment readiness piece to poverty. There is a safe communities piece to poverty. There is an internal resiliency and sense of hope that is also part of overcoming part of poverty as well," Lopez said. "I think the community at times has tried different strategies that probably weren't quite enough. They probably they needed to be pulled together for a multi-faceted approach. I think this is our community's moment to see if we can really do this."
