Salvation Army opens $6 million Lied facility

Thursday, June 16, 2005 | 11:14 a.m.

The Salvation Army on Wednesday hailed the opening of its privately funded $6 million new building out of which the organization will run programs to help homeless people train for jobs.

The building also has dormitory space and a kitchen and dining room to feed the poor.

Called the Lied Vocational and Training Center and Lied Kitchen/Dining Facility -- after the foundation that gave $5 million to the project -- the programs in the new building will "vastly improve our ability to serve those in need," said Gary Zielinski, director of business and finances for the Salvation Army.

The job training programs at the center will prepare homeless people for jobs ranging from working in hotel kitchens to security guards.

In the culinary field, people will be able to take 90 days of classes at the Community College of Southern Nevada related to working in kitchens and also obtain hands-on training in the new building's kitchen.

The kitchen and dining room will be used to prepare and offer up to 30,000 meals a month for the homeless, Zielinski said.

It also serves hundreds more who are enrolled in the organization's other programs.

Apart from training people for specific jobs, the new center will also be used to train people how to get a job, with help obtaining skills such as preparing a resume or passing an interview, he said.

Finally, there will be transitional housing available for all those enrolled in the different job training programs. Eighty beds are located in the dorms, with an open-ended policy on how long people can live there.

"It depends on how long it takes," Zielinski said.

With the new building, the programs and services being offered will not serve any more people than previously, but they will be served better, he said.

The kitchen, he said, "is on a par with some of the hotels."