The Salvation Army center in St. George becomes outpost, aims to increase help for at-risk youth

This 2016 St. George News file photo shows gathering for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of The Salvation Army's service center at 803 S. Bluff St., St. George, Utah, June 3, 2016 | Photo by Sandie Divan, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The Salvation Army is one step closer to having a full-fledged corps in St. George.

This St. George News 2016 file photos shows, from L-R: St. George Mayor Jon Pike, Donald Bush, director of the new center, at The Salvation Army ribbon-cutting ceremony in St. George, Utah, June 3, 2016 | Photo by Sandie Divan, St. George News

The Salvation Army service center at 803 S. Bluff St., which was founded in St. George in 2016, has officially been designated an outpost, which means they will soon have more staff and more funds to better serve the community, center director Donald Bush said. The next step above an outpost is a corps, which is what larger cities like Salt Lake City have.

“Full-fledged corps have more space and have more access to grants,” said Jared McKiernan, managing editor at New Frontier Publications, a newsletter for The Salvation Army. “It’s basically the same thing they’re doing now, but on a much bigger scale.”

With the new St. George outpost, Bush said he is hoping to start after-school programs for at-risk teens in Washington County. He is guessing it will take another two years until the center becomes a full-fledged corps, he said, which will be able to offer services like a homeless shelter.

The Salvation Army center in St. George is already helping at-risk teens from Millcreek High School in St. George by helping with tuition for them to attend Dixie Technical College, but with the new designation as an outpost, Bush said he is hoping to be able to help more teens.

“There are quite a bit of kids here who are what I call ‘couch surfers,’” Bush said. “They really need a place to sleep and food to eat.”


Read more: Groups advocate for future of homeless youth; a look at the numbers – St. George News June 2017


With more staff and resources as an outpost, Bush said he is hoping to provide these teens a place to go after school. One of the programs he said he will start is a music program for teens to learn instruments.

Bush is also hoping to eventually establish a shelter and rehabilitation center for alcohol and drug addictions in St. George, he said.

“We are trying to reach out to the people in St. George who are underserved,” Bush said. “It’s fine if someone in need comes to us and we can give them a food box or something, but we also want to find those in the community who can’t find us.”

There will be a ceremony and open house at the center to mark the designation of The Salvation Army service center becoming an outpost on a yet-to-be-announced day in February.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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2 Comments

  • Not_So_Much January 12, 2018 at 8:41 am

    This is good to hear.

  • ladybugavenger January 12, 2018 at 11:21 am

    I love the salvation army! Fantastic program!

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