Salvation Army Co-Lieutenants Lincoln Hawk and Claire O’Brien-Hawk are a long way from home, but the Southern California natives are looking forward to meeting the needs of some of the most vulnerable people in Aberdeen.

Lt. Hawk, along with his wife, Claire, have taken the helm of the Salvation Army thrift store and its other community services.

They both went to seminary school in San Diego and were assigned to continue their work through the church on Grays Harbor.

Prior to heading to the Northwest, Hawk worked as an inner-city pastor in and around Long Beach, Calif.

Lt. Hawk is still getting used to the area, including the increased rainfall, but one of Aberdeen’s newest residents is already looking to see what kind of an impact he can have in the area. “We know this is a broken area. One thing I’ve noticed about Aberdeen is that there are a lot of empty buildings,” he said. “They call it Grays Harbor but my wife and I want to change the name to Grace Harbor. It’s a place where God’s love can really do wonders.”

O’Brien-Hawk is currently taking the lead on the Salvation Army’s Christmas for Kids program, which aims to provide toys to 1,800 local children.

Lt. Hawk said his wife defies the stereotype of what’s typically expected of a pastor’s wife.

“I’m all about equality and some people in the church aren’t about that,” he said. “My wife is just as smart as me, just as capable as me to do anything and she’s a good partner to have. I know there’s this stereotypical idea of a pastor’s wife but she’s not that.”

Lt. Hawk-O’Brien is heavily involved in senior citizen programs, but said she would also like to re-establish the Salvation Army’s presence in the lives of youths.

“The Salvation Army here used to be a place with lots of youth around and that’s something we are hoping to bring back to the area,” she said. “When we were talking to the leaders about what our vision for this place is, all I had in my head was for it to be a buzzing place where stuff was going on.”

Like her husband, Lt. Hawk-O’Brien is also looking to learn more about the community she is serving. She acknowledges that the learning curve can be steep but is thankful for the help of volunteers she has been working with.

“We’re excited about this location because the community down here is just fantastic,” she said. “Every area has its challenges and it feels like there are a lack of resources to handle those things. But, we are working with quality people and we have quality volunteers who are partnering with us.”

One of the couple’s goals is to raise revenue at the thrift store to make sure they can afford the services and programs they want to provide, including distributing food and supplies to help the homeless survive the upcoming winter months.

When he arrived Lt. Hawk said he was surprised by the high number of churches in a town the size of Aberdeen, a lot of which have the same community services goals as the Salvation Army.

Lt. Hawk said he hopes to bring some unity and organization to the way churches work with the less fortunate.

“I’d like to see all these churches have some sort of get-together,” he said. “A lot of these places are doubling up on services … instead of all the churches feeding the homeless it would be good to come together and say ‘if you’re feeding the homeless, maybe we can offer some computers so people can build their resume and look for jobs.’ I want that kind of unity instead of every church being its own thing.”