In 2019, NATALIIA STETSENKO, her husband and children emigrated from Ukraine and came to the US without knowing any English. Fortunately, her mother had been living in the country for a few years before they arrived, but Nataliia’s family would still need more support if they were to survive in their new home in Illinois. They found that support in The Salvation Army and the Pathway of Hope (POH) program. POH is a ministry that helps families identify and overcome barriers to self-sufficiency while supporting them each step of the way. Once that goal is achieved, The Salvation Army maintains contact with those families to ensure things continue to go smoothly. 

Nataliia learned about the Norridge Citadel Corps when a neighbor, who also happened to be Ukrainian, informed her about a parenting class available there, which Nataliia happily joined. Suddenly, she had a community of mothers in similar situations that she could rely on. But her children, particularly her son, were also in need of community. He’d lost all his friends in Ukraine, and the struggle to fit in at his new school wasn’t made any easier by the language barrier. So, when Nataliia learned about The Salvation Army’s summer day camp, and scholarship programs to help families afford it, she saw it as a golden opportunity for her son to make new friends. The first time Nataliia and her husband attended a church service at The Salvation Army was for the summer camp’s final concert, where they were amazed to hear their son singing in English despite still not knowing the language. They decided then and there that Norridge Citadel would be their church home. 

The next year, Nataliia’s daughter was going into preschool. When the school asked for volunteers, Nataliia went to Pamela Church-Pryor, the community ministries director at Norridge Citadel, to say that she wanted to help. She thought it would be a good opportunity to learn more English, and she’d been a schoolteacher in Ukraine, but she wasn’t sure how she could get involved. Pamela told her that with Pathway of Hope they could find Nataliia a job at the school, and Nataliia agreed to join the program. 

Norridge Citadel has a particularly strong POH program, as the congregation makes a point to support anyone who needs it. “I think the corps overall is very special about receiving people,” says Pamela, who’s been working at Norridge Citadel for 16 years and has worked with POH participants for 12 years. “We try to connect from whichever point people come through our doors. So when people come through Pathway of Hope, we try to make the experience have eternal value. And we approach it as all hands on deck.”

“Oftentimes, we just need that entry point,” said Captain Denesia Polusca, corps officer at Norridge Citadel, speaking on the welcoming nature of the corps. “Really, that’s what it is: just creating space and opportunities for that, recognizing that somebody wouldn’t necessarily feel comfortable coming into the office, asking for help, and then coming to church on Sunday. So it’s just having those staircases so people can be able to feel that belonging before they take that next step.” 

Norridge Citadel’s intentional programming available to POH families includes Wednesday night youth activities, parenting classes, and conversational English classes for non-native speakers. They’re also always personally invited to church services, where Pamela gives them all visitor badges and introduces them as friends. There’s even a “Can You Help?” section in the corps bulletin where families’ needs are often posted so the congregation can step in. 

The parenting class came about specifically as an initiative to connect POH clients, many of which are immigrant families, as the Norridge Citadel team realized many of their clients would get along and support each other, but directly connecting them would breach client confidentiality. The class is now a diverse, multi-faith community of people who do things such as provide childcare when someone can’t afford it, practice English together, and help each other navigate life. 

Nataliia lauds the spiritual support she received during her POH experience, with everything from translated Bibles and help understanding Scripture to constant prayer coverage. “Every time I came here, we prayed about my future, my family, and I think this prayer helped me believe in myself.” She hopes that her life now can be seen as proof that POH works. “Look at me, look at my story, you can do it the same. God is so good. God works for everyone. Just go on to do first step.”

With help from the POH program, Nataliia and her family became US citizens and bought their condo, and she also got her driver’s license. She’s now working as a teacher’s assistant, and after working at her daughter’s preschool, she’s currently teaching science and social studies to middle and high schoolers. “I found strength in believing that God works through other people who provide help and support,” said Nataliia. “During this program, Pathway of Hope, can you believe, I got my teacher assistant license, and I started working in the school. I have lived six years in this country, I can’t believe I speak English now. And I work in an American school.” She plans to be a full-time teacher at her local middle school in the future but wants to be a preschool or kindergarten teacher first, because she loves working with small children. “They give me hugs,” she said. “This is the best, best gift for me.”

Nataliia also continues to feel more and more at home at Norridge Citadel. She’s now a soldier and a local officer, leading the “cherubs” junior church class at the corps. “I’m just so happy they have given me this opportunity to help this church, not just belonging to this place, but to do something,” she said. “I love to go to Ukrainian Church because this is my language and I love to hear from Ukrainian Christians, but this is my church. The Salvation Army, this is my church.” 

Captain Polusca credits the success of Norridge Citadel and their POH program to listening to the needs of the community and following the guiding of the Holy Spirit, which she says anyone can do. And being open to people like Nataliia is just part of The Salvation Army’s primary mission: meeting human needs in Jesus’ name without discrimination. “I love these people,” Nataliia said. “I love this church. And this is place where I belong, you know?”

Photograph by Mustafa Hussain