Salvation Army hopes to open Lehigh Acres office

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla.- The Salvation Army is looking to expand into a community they say desperately needs its help.

Twenty-two percent of the people helped by the Salvation Army during the holiday season came from Lehigh Acres. Yet, the non-profit agency doesn’t have an office there.

“Salvation Army has actually become a family to me,” said Carrie Radovan.

Radovan knows firsthand how the organization can help someone.

“To me it felt like God was looking out for me. They look to help people, who are in need of help,” said Radovan.

However, finding help from the Salvation Army in Lehigh Acres is difficult.

“Here’s a community of nearly 100,000 people, where the Salvation Army doesn’t have a physical presence of any kind,” said Bob Poff, Program Operations Director for the Salvation Army.

The office helps people fill out paper work for EBT cards and provides them with guidance on other programs that could save them money.

“We’ve, for some time, been talking about how do we, how do we make that easier,” said Poff.

Right now the agency is looking into a number of store fronts, with one option being in the Town Center.

As for Radovan, she knows how big of a difference thenew space would make.

“If they feel trapped and have nowhere else to go, Salvation Army would definitely be a good place.”

The new office could open as soon as March.