Atti Houshangi arrived in Vancouver in 2023, escaping political oppression and civil unrest in her native Iran. With no friends or family, the transition was difficult, but The Salvation Army stepped in. “They made me feel at home. They gave me a bed, food and everything I needed,” Atti says.

I saw a quote recently by Eugene Cho, founder and former senior pastor of Quest Church in Seattle, Washington, which said: “The Salvation Army will die if it loses the commitment it exhibited in the past for creativity.” My immediate reaction? Oh no! The Salvation Army can’t die! We need it! My second reaction? Well, if it’s not creative, then

Gwyneth Woods is the community and family services director in Listowel, Ont. Tell us a little about your family and early years. My parents immigrated to Canada from Northern Ireland a few years before I was born and later became Salvation Army officers. We moved around a lot and and I didn’t have extended family in the country, so making new