Salvation Army’s shelter growing to serve more in need

About five years ago, Jason Mauldin’s life took a drastic turn.

After losing his father in a motorcycle accident, his life spiraled out of control, and he became hooked on drugs and alcohol and bounced in and out of prison. When he was released from prison for the last time, he was homeless, living in a tent on the streets.

It was then that the 31-year-old discovered the Salvation Army’s Hospitality House in Santa Ana, the county’s only 24-hour, year-round emergency shelter for men.

“It really touched my heart when they opened their arms to me,” said Mauldin, who lived in Hospitality House for a month. “I didn’t expect a lot, but I got a lot when I was staying there.”

Hospitality House, which has been in operation for more than 50 years, is now slated for a $6-million rebuild so that it can serve more men like Mauldin. The old one-story structure at 818 E. Third St. will be torn down to make way for a two-story, 21,365-square-foot building with updated facilities and 25 additional beds.

The project is expected to take a year, and in the meantime, Hospitality House residents will be relocated to a temporary site in Santa Ana.

The shelter first opened its doors in 1964, offering homeless men a place to sleep and programs to help them find employment and permanent housing. In the 1980s, it expanded its services to include women and families, but in 2012, it switched back to an all-men’s facility to focus on the people who make up 70% of the homeless population locally.

This year alone, 781 men have slept under Hospitality House’s roof, said Larry Buster, chairman of the Salvation Army Orange County board, at the groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday. Also since January, the shelter has provided 50,000 meals, 4,000 items of clothing and 1,000 personal hygiene kits.

In Southern California, the Salvation Army shelters 2,697 people every night across a variety of programs serving the homeless, patients with HIV/AIDS, veterans and victims of sex trafficking, according to Kyle Smith, divisional commander of the Salvation Army Southern California.

“When folks are out there and they’re homeless and every day is a bad day, they don’t have an opportunity to recover, to say tomorrow can be better,” Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido said at the groundbreaking. “With this facility, tomorrow can be better.”

But Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Vincent Sarmiento said that even with this expansion of Hospitality House to 75 beds, the work to fight homelessness isn’t over.

“Our mission isn’t accomplished yet,” he said on Wednesday. “What it does is chip away at something.”

The county’s annual homelessness count this year found about 4,500 individuals living on the streets each night, up 5% in the last two years.

Still, Mauldin, who now works at the front desk of Hospitality House, greeting guests and connecting them with the resources they need, is thrilled to see the place that changed his life get an update.

“I couldn’t be happier and more excited,” he said. “I always thought 50 beds at the old shelter wasn’t enough. I always felt bad when we had to turn someone away.”

He added: “I just wish everyone could come into our shelter.”