Pull up a chair. Find your community

What is Salvos Community Connect, and how is it quietly changing the way help happens?

On a Monday morning in Benalla, in north-east Victoria, the kettle is boiling.
Food is cooking. Groceries are laid out for those who need to stock up.

Around the room, people sit together — playing games, chatting and anticipating Food for Thought, a shared lunch where each table works through three questions — something fun, something about faith, and something a little deeper about life.

Volunteers sort and serve food and a cuppa, moving through the room and connecting with people, while Jo, a Salvation Army Doorways case worker meets with community members — listening to their needs, advocating on their behalf and supporting them in a range of ways.

There is a steady, easy buzz of conversation — and plenty of laughter.

What is Salvos Community Connect?

It might look like a café. In some places it feels more like a lounge room. What is happening in Salvation Army corps (community centres and churches) across Australia is something deeper — supportive communities taking shape through conversation, care and connection.

This approach is called Salvos Community Connect.

Salvos Community Connect is a Salvation Army initiative that creates welcoming, drop-in spaces where people can access practical support, share a cuppa or a meal and connect with others. Rather than a transactional model of assistance, it focuses on building relationships and offering longer-term community connection.

Across Australia, sites operate in local Salvos, each shaped by local needs and resources, but built on the same idea — people flourish best when they are part of a community.

Sometimes people come looking for practical assistance or referrals. Sometimes they come because they feel isolated or unsure where to turn. Often, community members discover something they did not expect — real connection.

How does Salvos Community Connect work in practice?

Across many sites, the rhythm is simple — a welcome at the door. A cup of tea or coffee. A place to sit and connect.

Some centres run community meals or café-style spaces. Others have craft tables, games or fitness groups. At one Melbourne site, a men’s exercise group called Made to Move began after regulars decided to get healthier together — supporting men facing isolation and other challenges to build connection and confidence.

In other places there might be a knitting group, a community garden or a volunteer hairdresser offering free haircuts, music groups, Bible study and prayer groups, or a place to shower or wash clothes for those experiencing homelessness. Some go on to volunteer, and others join worship services.

Each site looks a little different. The shape depends on the people who gather there.

What remains consistent is the focus on relationship.

Captain Steph Glover, a project officer and development leader with The Salvation Army, says she has seen this play out in practical ways.

“In one place, a community member realised another person who attended couldn’t read,” she says. “So they began quietly helping them learn. It often becomes community helping community.”

From emergency relief to community connection

For more than140 years, The Salvation Army has provided support in Australia — grounded in a practical expression of faith in Jesus.

Steph says Salvos Community Connect builds on that foundation while shifting the experience of some emergency relief support.

“In the past, many interactions were very transactional,” she says. “Someone might come in, receive assistance and leave — sometimes in less than five minutes.”

Changes to The Salvation Army Doorways emergency relief and case management model created space to rethink that approach.

“The new model gave us flexibility to move beyond simply providing assistance and instead create relational, wraparound support,” she says. “We noticed early on that people often came in thinking they needed food or vouchers. But what they really needed was connection.”

Over time, many begin returning — not just for assistance, but for community, with local volunteers the backbone at many centres.

Steph says the model has revealed something simple but important.

“We’ve consistently heard that people want someone in their life who isn’t paid to be there,” she says. “Someone who can walk alongside them and simply be a friend.”

Community in action in Benalla

Benalla is located on Taungurung Country and Yorta Yorta Country in north-east Victoria.

In Benalla, volunteers are at the centre of Salvos Community Connect — a committed group who show up on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Some volunteers make coffee or serve meals. Others sort food or check in with people as they arrive.

Many also helped support hundreds of people through Christmas.

John, a volunteer, says opening the centre to the community has changed more than just what happens inside the building.

“It’s really exciting that our corps officers (leaders) started a men’s group on Fridays, and it’s blown me away,” he says. “We’re getting more and more people connecting here every week. It’s awesome.”

He says the space has become something simple but significant.

“People sit here and play games. It’s a safe spot for the community,” he says. “We just respect people, offer them love and care. Hospitality opens hearts.”

For Richard, another of the numerous valuable volunteers, it is the changes in people that stands out.

“One of the things I find so amazing is seeing people who have had social challenges,” he says. “As they come in and interact more and more, it’s absolutely incredible.

“You see people opening up and starting to connect. Attitudes and confidence grow.”

For Gay, who volunteers to help serve meals, cakes and cuppas, the appeal is simple.

“I just love it.”

Building connections across Australia

At Mandurah in Western Australia, on Bindjareb Noongar Country, where demand for support and homelessness continues to grow, a Salvos team member describes Mandurah Salvos Community Connect as a kind of ‘third space’ — not home, not work, but somewhere people can truly belong — a ‘hub’.

There are haircuts from a volunteer hairdresser, food support and a range of community groups that meet.

Mandurah Salvos leader, Major Karina Wood says the space brings together practical support and connection.

“[Salvos] Community Connect is where people can come and connect with one another. They can get assistance with food relief. Salvos Stores provide clothing on a free rack for people,” she says.

“We provide showers and people can get breakfast.”

Salvos Mandurah case manager, Miriam, adds, “Homelessness is huge here, I’ve noticed over the last 12 months that there [are] more and more people coming to Mandurah ...”

While food and other services in the centre have expanded to try and meet demand, Miriam says at its heart, it also remains about creating essential community connections.

She says, “It’s [all] about creating a safe environment to build good relationships and positive outcomes for community members.”

For more inspiring stories of community connection and Salvos initiatives, visit News and Stories.

Quick facts — Salvos Community Connect

What is Salvos Community Connect?

Salvos Community Connect is a Salvation Army community support program in Australia offering welcoming, drop-in spaces at local Salvos corps (churches) and community centres. These spaces are often café-style, where people can meet others, share a cuppa, and feel part of a community.

Activities vary by location and can include community meals, music groups, exercise groups, craft groups and Bible studies.

It also serves as a local collection point for emergency relief approved through The Salvos PAL (Phone Assistance Line).

How do people access emergency assistance?

Emergency relief is assessed through The Salvos PAL (Phone Assistance Line). If approved, support such as vouchers is collected at a local Salvos Community Connect site.

At many locations, a Salvation Army Doorways case manager is available to provide support, talk through individual circumstances and make referrals to other services as needed.

Many sites also offer additional practical help such as food, groceries and clothing, along with opportunities to connect through social groups. Some centres may also provide occasional services, such as hairdressing.

How is it different from traditional emergency relief?

Salvos Community Connect focuses on relationships, dignity and ongoing support where needed and wanted, rather than simply one-off appointments.

People are welcomed into a community setting where support sits alongside connection, conversation and care.