The Salvation Army closes all Jacksonville donation centers and stores amid COVID-19 fears

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — If you drive past the Salvation Army store and donation center on Beach Boulevard you can’t help but spot the giant sign outside. In flashing red text it reads “all stores temporarily closed.”

The Salvation Army told Action News Jax reporter Alicia Tarancon it made the difficult decision on Wednesday to close all the Jacksonville-area donation centers and stores to help stop the spread of coronavirus.

"I really desperately need donations. I can’t take them right now because what’s most important is that people stay safe, both the people in our program, our employees that are still with us and all those individuals that would be donating," said Captain Stephen Correira, the administration for the adult rehabilitation center.

The Salvation Army’s adult rehabilitation center is also being impacted by the shutdown.

It normally houses up to 125 men struggling with drugs and alcohol addiction and the family next door is how the program gets all its funding.

Correira said the program relies on the donations to help his clients battle addiction.

“So with our donations centers closed and with the stores closed – we have no income. None at all. We are surviving on our reserves right now and that’s running out pretty quickly,” Correira said.

The pandemic is impacting all social service programs throughout the state.

Despite the closures the organization is facing, it is still making sure people have shelter and food.

Since the Salvation Army began its COVID-19 response in northeast Florida, it has been able to give out 528 boxes of food, serve 1,095 lunches and dinners, and keep 96 people in shelters locally.

Correira told Action News Jax, the organization is not looking to close the adult rehabilitation center, but it is trying to come up different ways to get funding.

He said if you have any donations, “hang on to them.” The organization will take them after the stay at home order is lifted.

If you would like to help by donating online, click here.

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