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Call It Salvation Station

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By LAURA FRAZIER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 16, 2008

Updated: 01/14/2008 06:11 pm

BRANDON - Instead of kicking it to the curb on trash day, families who want to get rid of salvageable stuff they no longer need can turn their trash into someone else's treasure and ultimately help local men battling drug and alcohol addiction.

Donations dropped at the Salvation Army store on Adamo Drive in Brandon, one of seven stores in Hillsborough County, are tidied up and sold as low-cost merchandise to bargain hunters and those on shoestring budgets.

In turn, the stores' profits fully fund the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center in Tampa, among other programs. The residential center, at 13815 Salvation Army Lane off Nebraska Avenue, houses about 130 men ages 19 to 65 enrolled in an intensive, six-month drug and alcohol rehabilitation program.

Maj. Don Smith, center administrator, said in addition to hot meals, clean beds and decent clothes to wear, the men receive free medical attention, psychological and spiritual counseling and opportunities to work and pursue leisure activities. The program, he said, has accountability built in and is effective.

"There is mandatory drug testing, and the men are required to participate in work therapy," Smith said.

Counselors strive to instill in participants new work habits, real-life coping skills and self-respect. The men also are encouraged to seek sponsors to help them stay alcohol- and drug-free, as well as a church to attend regularly, by the time they leave the faith-based program.

"Everyone who comes through the door is successful to varying degrees," Smith said. "Some are clean and sober for the first time in a long time, and that in itself is a degree of success."

The organization, as with other Salvation Army branches nationwide, relies on donations of salable items to provide full funding for the treatment center. It accepts everything from clothing to cars, but recent changes to state tax laws have reduced the number of cars donated, Smith said.

"It used to be that you could donate a vehicle and claim the Kelley Blue Book value as a tax exemption," he said. "Now you can only claim the amount the charity actually sells it for."

Smith said cars in any condition are accepted. Those that can't be fixed are sold for scrap metal.

Donations can be dropped off at the store or picked up for free by the organization's fleet of trucks with the recognizable Salvation Army "Red Shield." In addition to staffing thrift stores and collection trailers, some rehab residents work as route drivers and center staff.

Robert Guggenheim, a recovering alcoholic who completed treatment and moved out of the center in March, works there as a human relations coordinator.

Guggenheim, 54, grew up in Tampa and attended Jesuit High School. He graduated from the University of Florida with degrees in criminology and government, and eventually opened a private law practice in Atlanta. He said a serious alcohol problem came to a head in 2006.

"I had been an attorney for 20 years but ultimately wound up being disbarred and losing my driver's license," he said. "I lost everything, even my dog. I had hit bottom."

His family brought him to the Tampa rehab center for treatment.

"When you're about two days away from being homeless, you realize you have to do something," he said. "In Dante's inferno, there are different levels of hell. I didn't care to go to any further levels."

Guggenheim said the spiritual aspect of The Salvation Army's program was the key to obtaining sobriety.

"They are a Christian organization," he said, "but they don't cram it down your throat."

Thursday he marked 19 months of sobriety.

"I thank God for the Salvation Army. They most definitely have saved my life."

TO DONATE

The Salvation Army accepts clothing, furniture, toys, appliances, home decor, electronics, working computers and cars. It does not accept paint, chemicals or hazardous materials.

WHERE: 9926 E. Adamo Drive, Brandon

DROP OFF: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday; noon to 5:30 p.m. Sunday

PICK UP: Call 1-800-958-7825 (95TRUCK)

INFORMATION: (813) 972-0471 or www.satampa.org

CRITICAL NEEDS: Cars in any condition, furniture

Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 657-4523 or lfrazier@tampatrib.com.

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