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Salvation Army store closing in Ashland By Myles Murphy Ashland Daily Tidings In a time when more social services are needed and funding for health and human services is dwindling, Ashland is losing another helpful organization - The Salvation Army. The Salvation Army announced this week it would shut the doors of its thrift store in the Ashland Shopping Center by the end of the month. Employee Aubrey Wyrick re-hangs a shirt at the Ashland Salvation Army outlet store on Friday. The store has been open since 1994. Ashland Daily Tidings/CHRIS MILLER "The Salvation Army has been looking for the last couple of months for a new store location in Ashland," wrote Captain John Van Cleef in a press release. "The Army would appreciate any and all help with regard to finding a new location in Ashland." Van Cleef was unavailable for additional comment, but Army Business Administrator Pam Hawkins confirmed the move. "We could not afford that location," Hawkins said. "Our heart is really there (to keep an Ashland store), but at this point we have not found a location." The store has operated at 1668 Ashland Street since 1994, selling discounted second-hand items and giving social service aid to people in need. "I'm really bummed," said regular patron Rhonda Hynes, picking through a collection of women's sweaters Friday. "I'm really going to miss them. They do a community service for folks and this will devastate the community. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they can find a new place in Ashland." But for non-profit groups, finding a place in Ashland is increasingly difficult with the rising rents and land costs. "The overhead cost is always a part of the budget organizations have to balance with their mission," Ashland City Councilor Cate Hartzell said. "As our cost of being and living in Ashland rises, that is a stressor for those organizations trying to help." Even for groups which own rather than rent offices - such as the Interfaith Care Community of Ashland on Second Street - the pressure is acute. "Of course the cost of land in Ashland creates a problem for everyone," ICCA Director Sharon Schrieber said. "We still owe on the property (on Second Street) and our concerns are the same as everyone's. Every day is leap of faith." The hardship is just one more on the pile weighing down human service groups in the city, according to Schrieber. "It's very difficult to provide the human services any population of any size needs," she said. "It's virtually impossible given the funding any of us has." As a result, ICCA's hope of someday creating a transitional home for families and people in need in the city seems a far off dream. "We pray every night somebody with a large discrete income will come in and buy us a house," Schrieber said. "So far it hasn't happened." Another non-profit group trying to get off the ground - Youthfocus - is running into similar problems. Youthfocus came close to realizing its goal of creating a shelter for homeless youth in the city in December when a house was donated to the group. However, a donation of land on which to put the house never materialized, fouling the deal and setting the group back again. "We couldn't find a lot to put the house on, but we're still looking," Youthfocus Project Coordinator Laura Blackfeather said. "Where has the community support gone in this town?" With many state and federal funding sources threatened, Blackfeather and others said they would like to see more support from the business community. "Businesses focus more on making money than helping," Blackfeather said. "Those of us who want to help are getting squelched. What will happen to the community then?" Many non-profit social service groups are putting hope in Measure 28 to ease pressure on people who need social services. If passed Jan. 28, Measure 28 would offset $310 million in potential reductions to state services by creating a three-year temporary tax increase that would salvage existing state-funded programs. "This will all be even more terrifying if Measure 28 doesn't pass," Schrieber said. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -