Salvation Army expressing concern of potential capacity decrease due to COVID spike

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Salvation Army has reopened to full capacity, but with the recent uptick in cases, there is some concern that capacity requirements could get strict again for the shelter.

According to Captain Johnny Horton, lower capacities at the shelter cause a financial strain on the Salvation Army.

To avoid turning people away, the shelter will pay for some of the individuals experiencing homelessness to stay in a hotel overnight when the capacity is reached.

The lower the capacity, the more money the shelter spends on hotel rooms.

“It’s really the unknown right now. We had just opened up back to full capacity and we’re slowly getting back to full capacity and we’re just kind of fearful that something else might happen and we might have to come back down and slowly work our numbers back down to where we were. But it really just depends on guidance from the local and state officials,” said Horton.

Horton said the shelter needs monetary donations as well as blankets, non-perishable foods but says monetary donations are the best because it can be used for whatever need presents itself including hotel rooms and transportation.