Mobile’s Only Salvation Army Family Shelter Is Closing at the End of July. Here’s What Happens to the Families Living There.

The Salvation Army Coastal Alabama Area Command will close its Family Haven residential shelter at 2325 Boykin Boulevard in Mobile on July 31, ending a program that has provided emergency shelter and supportive services to families experiencing homelessness since 2010.

The organization said the decision followed a review of available funding, the condition of the facility itself, and long-term sustainability concerns for keeping the shelter operating. Captain Richard Watts, Area Commander for the Salvation Army Coastal Alabama Area Command, said the immediate focus is on the families currently living there. “Our immediate concern is for the families currently in our care,” Watts said. “We are committed to walking alongside each household through this transition with compassion, dignity and individualized support. Our team is working closely with residents and community partners to help identify the safest and most appropriate next steps for every family.”

The Salvation Army says it is providing direct case management throughout the transition and coordinating with community partners to connect displaced residents with housing and other support services. Officials stressed that no family will be left to navigate the closure alone, and that the organization’s Pathway of Hope program will continue offering intensive, nonresidential case management to families who need it going forward.

The closure is limited to the residential shelter itself and does not affect the Salvation Army’s other programs across Coastal Alabama, including meals, food assistance, utility assistance, disaster relief and transportation support, which officials said will continue uninterrupted.

What Pathway of Hope offers

Pathway of Hope is a Salvation Army casework approach used by local units around the country. Rather than providing a bed, it pairs a family with children with a caseworker who helps the household set goals — such as steady income, stable housing or paying down debt — and then meets with the family regularly over an extended period to work toward them, connecting it with other Salvation Army and community services along the way. Because it does not depend on a residential facility, the program can continue after Family Haven closes.