The new center, on South High Street near Woodrow Avenue, can house 125 people, one-and-a-half times the capacity of the previous facility, 10TV's John Fortney reported.

Richard Ellis is the intake coordinator at the new facility. He knows what it's like to need the Salvation Army's help, since he's a former resident of the previous center.

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"By the time I got here, I was broken down, I was through," Ellis said. "My wife of 34 years divorced me. I came in about 135 pounds. I was cracked out of my mind. Alcohol had taken me all the way down."

Ellis has been sober for more than four years, and he is proud to be able to assist others as he himself was helped.

"When they come through that door, that's what the Salvation Army is here for," Ellis said. "I'm just blessed, and it's an honor for me to represent them."

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