BREMERTON — The Salvation Army’s assistant director of social services has been removed from her position after allegations from community members that she was proselytizing during meal times and discriminated against clients at the organization’s government-funded winter shelter on Sixth Street.

Allegations surfaced about the employee earlier this month in a Facebook post by a community homelessness advocate.

Kimmy Siebens — a practicing nurse who also runs a nonprofit that aids homeless people and their pets — said in the post that the employee had preached loudly during meal times at the shelter, told homeless people to look at staying in hotels, escalated situations with mentally ill people and referred to LGBTQ people as “demons.”

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Officials from the Salvation Army’s Northwest Division in Seattle said they did not receive a formal complaint about the employee’s conduct but saw Siebens’ post on Facebook. The organization was unable to respond because the group is private, according to general secretary Capt. Jonathan Harvey.

“We were made aware of some concerns from a citizen, we addressed those concerns back in December in writing with that individual, and then we did see some social media concerns that were raised,” Harvey said.

The Salvation Army reached out to Bremerton Mayor Greg Wheeler and county officials to discuss the employee and the claims.

“I’ve been reassured that they take these all very seriously, and the allegations as they were presented do not reflect the mission and values of the Salvation Army,” Wheeler said.

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Harvey said he could not discuss personnel matters but that the allegations in the post “are not consistent we who we are organizationally.” He added that the employee is “no longer on our team.” The Salvation Army would not comment on when the employee stopped working.

“We have a long and extensive experience in providing services, doing it professionally and doing it with integrity, doing it with love,” Harvey said.

In the post, Siebens said that she received multiple phone calls from homeless people she works with complaining that the employee required them to have a license for their pets before they could stay in the shelter. Licenses are difficult to obtain for those without permanent addresses, she said.

Siebens also said that the employee told homeless people to stay at hotels because of capacity issues at the shelter, that “they should stop being homeless,” and referred to people in the LGBTQ community as “demons.”

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I've visibly seen her argue with people with severe mental illness and escalate them to a point of no return where they are going to get in trouble and they will get banned,” Siebens said.

The employee would project Christian imagery on the walls using a projector, play loud Christian music and walk around praying and preaching in the shelter’s common area during breakfast and lunch, according to Siebens.

Two Salvation Army clients, who asked not to be named, confirmed the employee would talk to the group about God and pray during meals.

One woman, who stayed at the shelter for most of December before she found a place to live with her family, said the preaching was different than she’d seen before in similar settings.

“The thing that bothers me is when people talk about God in a way to where you could tell it’s being pushed,” she said.

When reached by the Kitsap Sun, the employee declined to comment.

The Salvation Army's winter shelter, which is open between Dec. 1 to March 31, is considered "low barrier" — meaning anyone is welcome, including those with pets or people who are intoxicated.

Kitsap Rescue Mission, the county's only year-round shelter, is also low-barrier but is "behavior-based," according to executive director Nancy Olsten. Intoxicated people are allowed as long as they are not abusive, and pets are not allowed.

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Now in its fourth year, the Salvation Army shelter is the only option for many homeless people during the winter months — Kitsap Rescue Mission only has 25 beds available. So far this winter, 459 people have stayed overnight at the Salvation Army.

Sheryl Piercy — who served as the social services director at the Bremerton shelter prior to the employee who was removed — was placed on paid administrative leave by the Salvation Army on Nov. 5, according to her attorney, Karen Klein.

“My client was placed on administrative leave for expressing her frustration over being berated at work for her own religious views,” Klein said.

A county grant for $166,000 pays for the shelter and other homeless support services. The city of Bremerton paid $30,000 this year for security services for Kitsap Connect, which has offices inside the Salvation Army building.

Wheeler stressed that social services must be separate from any proselytizing when public funds are involved.

“What they were doing is unacceptable, if that was the new norm then they would do that without public funds, but I don't believe that's the case,” Wheeler said.

Susan Tiffany, the social services director for the Salvation Army’s Northwest Division, will take on that role at the Bremerton location on an interim basis, Harvey said.

Major Scott Ramsey, who runs the Bremerton Salvation Army, was not made available for comment.

UPDATE: An earlier version of the story referred to the Salvation Army shelter as the only "low-barrier" shelter in the county. Kitsap Rescue Mission is also a low-barrier shelter. This version of the story also clarifies that Sheryl Piercy was not the employee removed by the Salvation Army.