College-Bound Thanks to Salvation Army Program : For Homeless, School Beats the Streets

Two months ago, a homeless man named Hank was hitting people up for money in Grand Central Terminal.

Today he is hitting the books, preparing for his freshman year at Fordham University.

Hank, 44, who declined to give his last name, said he had been homeless for about 10 years until he became a part of the Salvation Army’s new high school equivalency program on March 26.

“I was a high school dropout,” he said. “I was working menial jobs on the street. I was also a heavy drinker. I drank maybe two quarts of vodka on a good day.”

Earned Diplomas

Sven Ljungholm, 43, a captain in the Salvation Army and former executive with Finnair airlines, said Hank is now a recovering alcoholic, which means he no longer drinks.

Hank and four other homeless men earned their equivalency diplomas in May after two months of studies at the Salvation Army Citadel in Manhattan, Ljungholm said.

Ljungholm is planning a graduation ceremony soon, according to Craig Evans, a spokesman for the Salvation Army.

“The captain is toying with the idea of holding the ceremony in front of Grand Central station, as a kind of symbolic thing,” Evans said.

College Bound

Four of the men, including Hank, will attend classes this fall at the Lincoln Center campus of Fordham University, Ljungholm said.

Hank, who grew up in the Bronx, said he is looking forward to going to school.

“I think it will teach me some discipline. They’ve recommended that we take 14 hours of classes a week. Plus I’ll be working as a custodian at the citadel about 20 hours a week. That should keep me busy,” he said.

The four college-bound men, Ljungholm said, are applying for federal grants and state scholarships to help them pay for their education.

Hank, who said he dropped out of high school on his 16th birthday, plans to take a liberal arts curriculum next year.

‘Tip of the Iceberg’

“Since I’ve been in the (equivalency program) I’ve been doing a lot of writing. I’m thinking about journalism. I usually carry a notebook with me, and I write in it when I have the urge,” he said.

Most of his friends and acquaintances at Grand Central are excited for the scholars, Hank said.

“They say that it’s good that we’re doing it. But we’re just the tip of the iceberg. This could help the rest of the homeless out too,” Hank said.

The program was conceived at last year’s Christmas Eve sing-along for the homeless at Grand Central, Ljungholm said.

“I noticed that most of the men stopped singing “Silent Night” when we got to the second verse. They couldn’t read it,” he said.

Ljungholm started work on the program soon after Christmas. Nineteen homeless men applied. Room was found for them at the citadel and the men moved in on March 26, Ljungholm said.

The New York City Board of Education and the city’s Department of Social Services-Human Resources Administration helped the Salvation Army launch the program, Ljungholm said.