The Salvation Army – New Day Drop-in Center

The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

Since 2010, The Salvation Army’s New Day to Stop Human Trafficking Program (New Day) has been instrumental in leading Philadelphia’s strategic response to identifying and serving victims of human trafficking. New Day helps meet basic needs and connects vulnerable individuals to services to help them break out of the cycle. The Salvation Army has created four initiatives under the New Day umbrella to aid in these efforts: New Day Drop-In Center, New Home, PAD (Police Assisted Diversion), and Mobile Case Management.

In line with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, basic needs must be met to further address those barriers preventing people from breaking out of exploitation. When someone is hungry and in need of shelter, they will focus on fulfilling these basic needs and nothing else. After those needs are met, that person needs to be surrounded by a trauma-informed support system to start the recovery process. Finally, once they feel safe and secure, they can begin to address the other barriers keeping them from reaching self-sufficiency. To meet these needs, The Salvation Army’s New Day to Stop Trafficking Program opened a fully-functioning drop-in center called the New Day Drop-In Center (NDDI).

The NDDI is strategically located in the heart of Kensington and has been in existence since 2014. It was opened in response to the needs of adult women who are victims of sex trafficking in the neighborhood. Kensington is also the Philadelphia epicenter of the opioid epidemic. According to Drexel University’s Urban Health and Collaborative profile, Kensington’s poverty percentage was recorded at an extremely high 44.7% in 2019.