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Economy Creates New Homeless Tulsans

Salvation Army

By John Durkee

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kwgs/local-kwgs-834844.mp3

Tulsa, Oklahoma – The kitchen at the Salvation Army's Center of Hope on North Denver in downtown Tulsa! That smell is cat-fish being cooked in a large deeper fryer. For lunch Mary, the food manager, is expecting 350-people. She says with every meal the line gets longer. The line snakes out the cafeteria door. It runs down the hallway to the back door.

Most of the people waiting in line don't want to talk to a snooping reporter. Marvin did. He is a 44-year-old Tulsan, dressed neat and clean. For the first time in his life he is out of work and down on his luck.

He uses the Day Center for the Homeless to look for work during the day and spends his nights at the Salvation Army. He has been in this situation since Thanksgiving.
70% of the people seeking help with utility bills have NEVER asked before. The need for temporary shelter has more than doubled. The Center for Hope almost doubled the number of meals served in the first quarter of this year as when compared to last year.

Sallie Godwin is the spokeswoman for the Salvation Army in Tulsa. She says as the need increases, so does the Salvation Army's expenses.