Five months into their posting in Whitehorse, the Salvation Army's new captains are undertaking their most intensive fund-raising effort of the year: a campaign that should pay for a quarter of the organization's work through 2010.

And as the operators of Whitehorse's only shelter and the territory's only halfway house, this is no small task.

Shannon and Jeff Howard arrived in Whitehorse over the summer to take over from Johanna and Robert Sessford, who spent 10 years ministering to Whitehorse's most needy.

The young couple met at the Salvation Army's college in Winnipeg, where they both studied a combination of theology and administration which would prepare them for a life of running shelters, halfway houses, thrift stores and churches.

"It's not a typical career,” Shannon says of the job. "You climb the ladder, but you don't climb it for more pay. This is definitely not a job you do for the money.”

In fact, as Jeff points out, captains are referred to as volunteers within the organization, and their income is considered a living allowance as opposed to a wage.

So why do they do it?

"I got what we call a calling,” Shannon explains. "When I was a teenager, I was called by God to do this work.”

"As someone we went to college with used to say, ‘This wasn't my idea,'” Jeff adds with a laugh. "It's a spiritual understanding, it's something we believe we've been led to do.”

The couple has a habit of finishing each other's sentences and adding to each other's thoughts. It makes for good conversation, but difficult note taking.

Established in London in the latter half of the 19th century, the Salvation Army began as a fringe church which counted "thieves, prostitutes and drunkards” as its first converts.

Founder William Booth was scorned by other Christian leaders for welcoming such tattered souls into his fold, but 150 years after Booth began preaching to the people of London's gritty East End, his organization stands as the largest non-governmental social services provider in many countries, including Canada.

Things have changed over the years for the Army. Three decades ago, ministries which provided meals for the needy, required people to sit through a evening service before they ate.

Now the religious offerings are optional, Jeff says. But the Howards' enthusiasm for their work is clearly faith-based, as is their way of coping with stress.

"You have to make sure you take days off,” Shannon says.

"Because it's easy not to,” Jeff adds.

"And when you leave a day that's been really draining, you have to go home and say a prayer and say, ‘OK, Lord, you have to take care of them tonight while I recharge,'” Shannon says.

The Howards came to Whitehorse from their first posting in High River, Alta. There, they served a farming community of 12,000 that was vastly different from Whitehorse.

"Whitehorse has a lot more visible poor,” Shannon says of the contrasts between the two communities.

"High River has a lot more working poor; people who were homeless lived in their car or the park where no one saw them.”

"Not like here, where you see homelessness on the streets and all around,” Jeff says.

The addictions are more obvious too, Shannon says.

One of the first and deepest impressions she had of her new posting was "just how addicted a lot of our clients are.

"It is their life. It is all the can think of – all they can do.”

"Sometimes a person can think, ‘These people don't need to live like this,'” Jeff says. "But in order to have that sort of relationship with alcohol, you have to live like that.”

One of the Howards' goals during their time in Whitehorse is to move above and beyond the emergency services available at their headquarters on Fourth Avenue at Black Street.

"What we're hoping for the future – especially for the shelter – is that we can provide more than just food and shelter, but also some programming for people who want to overcome their addictions.”

"We want to help people move on and live independently,” Jeff says.

That said, both Shannon and Jeff are quick to point out that the staff at the shelter act as de facto counsellors, social workers, nurses and family to the people who rely on its services.

The money to keep those services flowing comes from four quarters: the territorial Department of Health and Social Services, the federal government, donations funnelled through the Salvation Army's national office and donations gathered locally.

The Christmas kettle campaign, along with a letter campaign launched last month, will bring in the bulk of those donations.

This holiday season, the Howards aim to bring in $140,000 worth of donations, but they are still scrambling for volunteers to oversee the donation kettles.

"We're desperately in need of people,” Shannon says.

Those interested in volunteering during the Christmas campaign can sign up at the Salvation Army office, behind the shelter on Black Street between Third and Fourth avenues.

Donations can be dropped off at the office or at the kettles, located at Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, the Real Canadian Superstore and the Yukon government liquor store.