The Salvation Army International
The Salvation Army International is an international charitable organization and an integral part of the Christian Church. The foundation was founded in 1865 by William Booth and is headquartered in London, England. The Salvation Army offers a wide variety of services worldwide including international development, social work, health, emergency response, combating addiction dependency, and family tracing, among others. This paper explores how the organization’s mission and vision contribute to public health and safety improvements, its ability to promote equal opportunities and improve quality of life, funding sources, and impacts on the health and safety needs of a local community.
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Salvation Army’s Mission and Vision and How They Enable It To Contribute To Public Health And Safety Improvements
The Salvation Army defines itself as an international movement that is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. According to its official website, its mission is “to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in his name without discrimination” (“The Salvation Army International – Vision,” 2023). The organization’s vision is to reach all who are hurting, broken, lonely, dispossessed, and lost, by leveraging love and utilizing all means (“The Salvation Army International – Mission,” 2023). Notably, the vision and mission emphasize meeting human needs and reaching the hurting. These aspects of the Salvation Army’s vision and mission enable the organization to positively contribute to public health and safety improvements. According to Stanhope and Lancaster (2019), public health focuses on protecting and improving the health of individuals and their communities.
Salvation Army engages in numerous initiatives that support its mission and vision as well as promote public health and safety. The initiatives include helping those suffering from addiction dependency, responding to emergencies resulting from human conflict, natural and man-made disasters, and family tracing. The organization also operates clinics and hospitals across the world, have social programs running in almost every country it operates in, and also participates in international development initiatives to be catalysts of sustainable change in communities (“The Salvation Army International – Our Work,” 2023). Thus, the Salvation Army is actively engaged in many initiatives that support its mission and vision as well as promote public health and safety.
Salvation Army’s Ability to Promote Equal Opportunity and Improve the Quality of Life
The Salvation Army is determined to promote equal opportunity and improve the quality of life in communities. In its vision statement, the organization emphasizes that it seeks to meet human needs without discrimination (“The Salvation Army International – Vision,” 2023). In addition, the Salvation Army has a code of conduct underpinned by the Bible. The organization insists that all its operations and activities are based on the Bible and motivated by the love of God (The Salvation Army – Code of Conduct,” 2014). The Bible insists that all humans were created equally and, as such, must be treated equally. For instance, Genesis 1:27 states that God created humans in his image.
Despite its determination to promote equal opportunity and improve the quality of life, the organization’s efforts might be constrained by social, cultural, economic, and physical barriers. For instance, a need may be in a country where the organization is not operational and this may hinder it from rendering help. Also, some people are unfaltering believers of their cultural beliefs and if the beliefs do not support Christianity they might refuse to accept help from the organization. Moreover, the organization’s budget may constrain it from serving every person it may want to help and, as such, false it to prioritize.
The Impact of Funding Sources, Policy, and Legislation On The Organization’s Provision of Services
The Salvation Army’s main source of funding is donations. Since donations are unreliable as they are dependent on the generosity of individuals and organizations. Thus, even though the organization may be willing to meet the health and safety needs of individuals, families, and aggregates within the community, it may not be able due to financial constraints. Additionally, various policies and legislations within specific nations might prevent the organization from dispensing its services to a community. For instance, countries such as Afghanistan, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Vietnam among others persecute Christians (Strømmen & Schmiedel, 2020). Countries with such policies can prove almost impossible for the organization to provide services since it is a Christian-based movement.
Impact on the Health and Safety Needs of a Local Community
The Salvation Army has operated clinics and hospitals in some of the neediest parts of the world for as long as it has existed. The organization prides itself in providing some of the most effective, influential, and sustainable medical services in various parts of the world, which addresses the health and safety needs of the local people. The services that the hospitals and the clinics provide include maternal and child health services, emergency care, general surgery, mental health care, HIV and AIDS care, sexual and reproductive health, and infectious diseases care, among many others (“The Salvation Army International – International Health Services,” 2023).
Nurses can become involved with the Salvation Army by applying for jobs with the organization or volunteering. The organization usually employs nurses across the globe in its many hospitals and clinics and is always looking for professional/skilled volunteers (“Work with US,” 2023). Additionally, nurses can conduct research focused on helping the organization become more effective in its efforts geared toward meeting the health and safety needs of local communities. This can allow the organization to provide evidence-based services hence becoming more effective in delivering its services and reaching its desired goals.
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