New Salvation Army captains keen to identify service gaps and community needs | New

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Guam’s new Salvation Army captains, Yasmin and Hector Acosta, are eager to find gaps in services on Guam and help meet those needs.

Hector Acosta said their first steps were to meet with the various departments and staff of The Salvation Army to find out how they operate and what the needs of the residents they serve are.






Hector and Yasmin Acosta, new Salvation Army Guam Corps captains, in the Tiyan headquarters pantry, July 27, 2022.



“What we ask first is what are the gaps? What are the areas where people’s needs are not being met and how are we stepping in to address and meet some of those needs? ” he said.

The couple arrived on the island about three weeks ago.

“It feels like they have a very capable team here, we’re just helping to steer the ship,” Yasmin Acosta said.

She said everyone was friendly and hospitable.

She said the women’s addiction center currently being established at the Lighthouse Recovery Center is a project she looks forward to working on.

mission to serve

The Acostas’ journey as officers began 10 years ago when they lived in Phoenix, Arizona.

They were invited to join the organization by a relative who was serving as an officer. When they learned more about the organization, they felt that “it basically aligned with our hearts and how we want to express our faith,” Hector Acosta said.

They served their first post for five years in Lancaster, Calif., and were most recently in Seattle, Washington, before being appointed to Guam.

“We have actually agreed to serve anywhere in the world. Wherever the need is, that’s where we want to go,” said Hector Acosta.

He said they both felt very comfortable in Guam. They are from Mexico and recognize similarities between places and cultures such as architecture, food, Spanish words and names and other factors such as tropical climate management.

Hector Acosta said the Salvation Army is in the process of writing grant applications to cover overhead costs for services provided by the organization.

This will help them focus more funds on helping the community.

In the meantime, they said the Salvation Army is collecting donations for a school supply drive through September 6.

Items such as backpacks, notebooks, pens, rulers, folders, glue sticks, binders, pencils and markers can be dropped off at Tiyan’s pantry.

Pacific Daily News reporter Jackson Stephens covers poverty as a member of the Report for America corps. You can reach him at

[email protected].

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