I, too, have had extensive dealings with The Salvation Army over the years...I was the intake director for one their ARCs in Chicago, IL, for several years. I was considered "senior staff." It is my considererd opinion The Salvation Army is far and wide the most corrupt organization I have ever encountered. They are greedy, unscrupulous and downright cruel. They take the denizons of society: the addicted, the homeless, the socially inept, the down-on-their-luck and they give them a roof over their head and some food (bad and not enough) and put them to work in their sweatshops for free...this is hard, backbreaking work, forty hours a week. At the end of six months there is no "after care" program...the "beneficiary" (the army's euphemism - they LOVE their euphemisms - you can't even "die" while at The Salvation Army, you're "promoted to glory.") is simply kicked back to the curb. Chris24601 has it exactly right. The ARC program is essentially indentured survitude, nothing more, nothing less. In addition, the officers, all theives to the last one, as far as I could see, live like kings, new car every year, new houses, children go to college for free, no taxes (they are, after all, "ministers"), the Army takes care of everthing...This is a dangerous cult, pure and simple, and somehow, God knows how, they've managed to hookwink America into thinking they are a "charity" that helps people.