Echelon Turns Out for Pittsburgh Shelter

by Hugo Bravo

The Family Caring Center in Pittsburgh, Pa., is one of the few shelters in the Pittsburgh area that welcomes both individuals and whole family units experiencing homelessness. The Caring Center has apartment-style living quarters, with 18 rooms and 85 beds, and serves daily meals for its residents. It also hosts children's activities and adult classes in résumé writing, parenting, and more.  

Breakfast is served 

In June, the Family Caring Center welcomed Echelon Pittsburgh for a morning of service and ministry. Echelon, made up of young professionals who believe in and support the Army's mission, gathered to cook and serve hot breakfast meals to the families at the center. Some Echelon members were accompanied by their mothers and other family members, who were eager to get involved in the work Echelon does.  

Major Vicki Berry, Echelon liaison for the Salvation Army Eastern Territory, joined the group at the center as well. The event was not only a gesture of kindness to the residents, Berry says, but also a way for the members of Pittsburgh Echelon, a relatively young chapter, to bond.  

"This new generation is very transient. People move away; new people join and take up different roles in groups like Echelon," says Berry. "When there's an activity like this one, I want to come out and say thank you for their work as they move forward and grow." 

Pittsburgh's Echelon has made volunteering at the Family Caring Center a focus of their ministry. Last fall, they visited the center to take part in its Back-to-School Bash celebration for the children and their families. 

Why Not You 

The Family Caring Center is currently working with DesignGroup, an Ohio-based interior design and architecture firm, on Renovation Hope, a project to renovate and upgrade the center's facilities. The center is being repainted and furnished to give the families who are living there a sense of comfort, home, and healing.  

One of the additions to the Family Caring Center will come from former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson and his wife, singer-songwriter Ciara, through the couple's Why Not You Foundation. WNYF donated $45,000 to the center, with the Pittsburgh Steelers organization making a second matching donation. The investment will help convert the Family Caring Center dining room into a Why Not You Center, a space for education, empowerment, and healthy habits. These and other renovations to the center will start in the fall.  

Lauren Brant, director of corporate engagement for The Salvation Army in Western Pennsylvania, says, "The center will empower families to embrace a 'Why Not You' mindset, helping build confidence, set goals, and seize new opportunities. Although Russell played only one season with the Steelers, the impact he made off the field will be long-lasting." 

Major Philip Lloyd, the former Allegheny County coordinator, now area commander at The Salvation Army Columbus Area Services, says, "We are deeply grateful to Russell and Ciara Wilson and the Why Not You Foundation for their generous support of the Family Caring Center. Their gift is not just a donation; it's an investment in the lives of families and children in Pittsburgh who rely on us for stability, care, and hope. Their partnership inspires us to continue building a community where every family can find the support they need and experience the love of Jesus Christ firsthand." 

Click here for more information on how you can help The Salvation Army Family Caring Center.