By Ethan Benedicto
When their Cranbourne headquarters burned down in 2023, the Casey Cardinia Salvation Army had no place to call home, until now.
A new centre in Clyde North recently opened, serving as a temporary home for the Salvos until the repairs are completed in their original home.
Captain Katie Ryan, the commanding officer for the chairty in Casey and Cardina, said that having a designated place to gather and meet is “very exciting”.
“This is great because we’ve been working from multiple buildings, but now we can be under one roof.
“The other exciting thing is for the church space, and during the week, we can redevelop initiatives that serve the community.
“We’re really excited that we have this space now and to be able to do that again,” she said.
On Sunday, 16 March, members of the charity gathered at the new space to scope the area, familiarising themselves with the amenities as well as the facilities for them to use.
The charity’s previous home near Casey Grammar Seconday School caught fire after what local FRV responders coined as an accident.
At that time, a group of seven workers quickly escaped the fire, with the flames damaging much of the church area and its ceiling and roof.
Now, being the first tenants in the space in Clyde North, Katie, alongside Lieutenant Colonel Denis Lorimer, are keen to once more host their programs.
“I find it really exciting that we now have a facility we can call our own,” Denis said.
“So therefore, we can also operate all the programs that the Salvation Army are so well known for.
“We’ve got our doorways program, our activities for the youth and other young people, church activities, a whole lot can be encompassed with this new building.”
Katie, Denis, and the other members are keen for another chapter, where after the church service on Sunday, 23 March, all community services will commence once more the Monday after.
For Katie, having a place where members and those they support can gather means that their work can be effectively carried out.
“By making it centralised, it makes it very accessible for everyone, but also those for people in wheelchairs, walkers and so on, it’s just an amazing facility,” she said.
“Because the idea of the Salvation Army is that it’s a holistic space for everyone, so when people walk through the door, we just don’t want to give them good, we want to be looking at how we can help them as an individual to flourish.”
To Denis, being able to foster that sense of love and belonging is something that “keeps us going”.
“The fact that people are discovering news ways of life, because they’ve come to us when we’ve given assistance, it’s amazing,” he said.
The charity is looking to stay at Clyde North for the next two to three years, giving ample time for the repairs to be done at their Holland Drive base.
In the meantime, all are keen to move forward, and with the center officially opening soon, the excitement only keeps growing.
