A case study exploring the role of Christian hospitality in Salvation Army staff and volunteer approaches to supporting survivors of domestic abuse (DA)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Using The Salvation Army’s (TSA) The Link Café (TLC) in South London as a case study, this paper explores how the approach of Salvation Army staff and volunteers to working with survivors of domestic abuse (DA) models Christian hospitality. Hospitality is one of TSA’s Family Ministries Department’s seven values; however, as DA is an under-researched area of TSA provision, it is necessary to explore what this looks like in practice. Data collected through five semi-structured interviews with TLC staff and volunteers reveal a hospitality rooted in recognition of survivors as those marginalised; a hospitality that emphasises relationships and ‘being with’ survivors over prescriptive support. Even with necessary boundaries, this hospitality opens up space for genuine empowerment, where each survivor is seen as one ‘who bears gifts’ and attempts are made to enable ‘guests’ to become ‘hosts’. However, as with many faith-based organisations’ responses to social injustice, this study suggests that the ‘Christian’ in TLC’s hospitality is implicit rather than explicit. It nevertheless challenges TSA to think more intentionally about the extent to which Christian hospitality is and can be lived out in its different expressions to ensure DA survivors are welcomed, empowered, and supported effectively.