Beautiful transformations in Adelaide – Ali’s Easter story
Just over five years ago, Ali – who today lovingly coordinates a midweek gathering and meal for 120 people at City Salvos in Adelaide and is currently preparing Easter celebrations – had lost everything. She was battling addiction and running for her life. She says: “My life [was] filled with utter chaos and destruction, trying to fill a void with an addiction to ice.”
Today Ali is five years free from drug use, deeply connected to her church and working for the Salvos. She is the coordinator of ‘DUO’ (which stands for Do Unto Others) community meals and connection and is a Salvation Army Doorways worker (offering support, case work, emergency relief, material aid and referrals).
Her passion for caring for others is deepened by the pain and struggle of her own life and the faith that she discovered on her journey.
She says: “I married quite young and then that relationship dissolved after probably 15 years. I then lost my career as an advanced care paramedic moving back to Adelaide and it was from there I turned to drugs. I lost everything including my children. It was a slippery slope.”
A cry from rock bottom
In an unhealthy relationship, during the height of her addiction, Ali also experienced extreme fear and violence. One day, just over five years ago, literally running for her life, she jumped on a train. Her clothes were torn and she was beaten, bruised and bloody.
“I had absolutely nothing left,” she says.
She made a reverse charge call to her parents and that was the turning point that saw Ali reconnect with her parents, undertake residential recovery and connect with a SMART Recovery group run by the Salvos.
She went on to re-marry and was encouraged by her husband to try church at City Salvos in Adelaide.
“I found that they were just so welcoming, and so loving, and non-judgmental and they really, really embraced myself and my husband,” she says. “From that day forward, we just cemented ourselves as an integral part of City Salvos and we are now ‘adherent members’. Our church is our family and we are blessed to be loved unconditionally.”
Sharing and caring for others
Ali openly shares her story to encourage others, saying: “People here know my story, they know my background, and they see me as a tangible source of hope.”
While the process of recovery has been painful and many hurdles remain, Ali says her life has been genuinely transformed.
“If someone had said to me five years ago, [while I was] sitting in a hospital bed, very, very broken and battered, that this is where you’d be sitting today, I’d tell them they were crazy,” she smiles, “but I’ve learned I make a mess of things unless I let God lead the way. Thankfully, my mess is now a message of how great our God is and what he can do when we allow him to take the wheel.
“I’m a miracle in a sense, given where I’ve come from to where I am now. The glory needs to go to Jesus.”
Caring for others through the Salvos
As coordinator of DUO, Ali and a team of caring volunteers provide a weekly community meal for around 120 people.
DUO grew out of the street ministry of the Adelaide City Salvos church around 10 years ago, to provide additional support and connection for those struggling with homelessness, complex mental health needs, isolation and disadvantage.
Community members share a meal and their talents – playing music, singing, gardening and serving others in different ways. Birthdays are celebrated, prayers are shared, small groups support each other and there are craft activities.
Ali says, “There is a lot of love. It’s beautiful!”
DUO also offers referral to a range of Salvation Army services at the same centre, including the Doorways program which offers crisis intervention, early intervention and ongoing support via emergency relief, material aid and referrals.
Light, life, hope and transformation
“With all of the support and all of the love and light, we see transformations happen on a daily basis,” Ali shares. “They may come in steps and we celebrate wins along the way – say, if someone has been accepted into casework, or if they’ve just been housed, or if their family is reconciled.
“There are so many reasons for celebration, and it is through this that hope is found, and people feel loved and valued.
Many who come for a meal at DUO also come for the small groups, short message, prayers and hymns that are offered.
As Easter approaches, Ali says: “Easter at DUO consists of a small devotion – a message of how Easter represents God’s great love for all of us, in sacrificing his only son. We give Easter eggs out symbolising this and our small groups explore the message of Easter.”
Explore Jesus’ promise of abundant life this Easter with at your local Salvos church.
For Ali, personally, Easter also has deep meaning.
“God LOVES us so much that he gave his only son, Jesus. So, for me, it is about being humbled in thanks for Jesus laying down his life for not only me, but for all of us,” she says.
“My heart and our mission here is to love this city of Adelaide as Jesus does.
“I feel very privileged to serve and so thankful that God rarely calls the qualified, but rather qualifies the called!”
For some of this content and more about City Salvos, Adelaide, visit: