The stench of bad leadership at Loaves & Fishes hangs in the air like a rotting halibut.
Loaves & Fishes will be closing its Men’s Wash House for five days – the first five days of September – for reasons that have not been disclosed. A notice was put up in Friendship Park and at the wash house to that effect this morning.
A five-day period, during a hot summer, when homeless men cannot easily keep themselves clean is a significant disruption of homeless services. Being stinky out in public is a bummer. Loaves & Fishes really ought to find some empathy for the suffering of homeless folk. Or, ought to fire some of its reeking top-level employees and replace them with people who have a compassionate nature. In the past, the Wash House has been closed such that Wash House staff could take a single day off to go to a Star Trek Convention in Sacramento. A search of the Internet shows no evidence of a five-day, Memorial extended-weekend Star Trek Lollapalooza, though that could just be because it’s hidden behind a futuristic cloaking devise of some weird sort.
Anyway, the Wash House staff would never advocate for a long close; they care about their work and the guys they serve. Another possibility is that the water tank has busted, the building has been invaded by termites, and all the urinals and toilets have been busted up by gangsters dressed as nuns wielding bats – but still, it takes FIVE DAYS to fix merely all that? Or, it may be that Mark – the irreplaceable fully-competent-and-compassionate manager and Wash House Mr. Congeniality – is vacationing in Argentina. But, truly, there is no excuse. A five-day closure is unjustifiable, but IS the usual output from the never-stinting-at-being-meanspirited, disconnected-from-what-being-homeless-is-like Loaves & Fishes high-up management.
During the first three days of the Wash House closure, homeless men in the know will be able to go to the Union Gospel Mission for clean clothes and a shower. However, UGM does not have open hours, staff and facilities to compensate for the inavailability of the Wash House.
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| Men's Wash House: A vital service to allow homeless men to keep themselves clean with a shower, shave and clothing exchange. | |
A five-day period, during a hot summer, when homeless men cannot easily keep themselves clean is a significant disruption of homeless services. Being stinky out in public is a bummer. Loaves & Fishes really ought to find some empathy for the suffering of homeless folk. Or, ought to fire some of its reeking top-level employees and replace them with people who have a compassionate nature. In the past, the Wash House has been closed such that Wash House staff could take a single day off to go to a Star Trek Convention in Sacramento. A search of the Internet shows no evidence of a five-day, Memorial extended-weekend Star Trek Lollapalooza, though that could just be because it’s hidden behind a futuristic cloaking devise of some weird sort.
Anyway, the Wash House staff would never advocate for a long close; they care about their work and the guys they serve. Another possibility is that the water tank has busted, the building has been invaded by termites, and all the urinals and toilets have been busted up by gangsters dressed as nuns wielding bats – but still, it takes FIVE DAYS to fix merely all that? Or, it may be that Mark – the irreplaceable fully-competent-and-compassionate manager and Wash House Mr. Congeniality – is vacationing in Argentina. But, truly, there is no excuse. A five-day closure is unjustifiable, but IS the usual output from the never-stinting-at-being-meanspirited, disconnected-from-what-being-homeless-is-like Loaves & Fishes high-up management.
During the first three days of the Wash House closure, homeless men in the know will be able to go to the Union Gospel Mission for clean clothes and a shower. However, UGM does not have open hours, staff and facilities to compensate for the inavailability of the Wash House.
Comments
Q. "What if [Loaves & Fishes] just shut down entirely?"
A. For starters, that wouldn't happen. A meteor isn't going to wipe out the Loaves & Fishes Mall. But, if everything did come to a sudden halt THAT WOULD FREE UP FOUR MILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR TO BE USED EFFICIENTLY FOR THE BENEFIT OF AREA HOMELESS PEOPLE. And volunteers could be freed-up to do something more meaningful and contributory. By the way, it is a ridiculous circumstance that all these volunteers come to a place where so very many people NEED EMPLOYMENT.
Q. You write "Loaves & Fishes receives no government funding."
A. Loaves & Fishes has a complex of buildings that pay no property tax. In this way Loaves & Fishes very directly gets government support that is no different from government funding. [It is similar to corporate-jet builders getting a reprieve from paying taxes.] For my part I very much wish Loaves & Fishes did get other government funding and with it a mandated obligation to serve nutritious meals; to properly abide by safety regulations [where else in Sacramento could a completely dead three-ton tree fall and almost kill a half-dozen people other than in L&F's Friendship Park?]; and cleanliness rules [On weekends in the past, and probably now, there is no place for homeless people to wash their hands before a weekend meal.]
Loaves & Fishes is a disgrace. What is amazing is that so little gets accomplished with so much money. But there is an explanation of that: The Administration at Loaves & Fishes is breathtakingly incompetent. North Korea has more-compassionate leadership.
It is not unusual for non-profit organizations to have tax exemptions. I'll grant you that if a for-profit business occupied those buildings they would generate tax revenue, but this is hardly the equivalent of "government funding." I guess you think the government could spend 4 million dollars more efficiently ... in California? I seriously doubt that!
Ultimately you and I are on the same side here. We want to see people being cared for efficiently, effectively, and with compassion. Your points have merit, but I wonder if attacking the hand that feeds the homeless is the right approach to helping the homeless. Can we at least acknowledge that they are filling an important need in the community, even if they're not fully living up to your expectations?
Again, your supposition isn't realistic. Loaves & Fishes isn't going to *POOF* disappear, as much as that possibility is an intriguing one.
BUT, allow me to point out that San Antonio, a similar-sized metropolis to Sacramento -- but much poorer -- raised $100 million for its Haven for Hope. See http://sacramentohomeless.blogspot.com/2010/04/is-san-antonios-example-in-treatment.html So maybe it is the case that Loaves & Fishes is COSTING Sacramento $96 million rather than bringing a relatively-paltry $4 million to the aid of homeless folk.
In any case, management of Loaves & Fishes is a thorough disgrace.
ckrd, I have no great objection to L&F getting a tax benefit, what I object to is its self-righteous claim of getting no benefit.
Certainly, Loaves & Fishes IS feeding homeless people. But since so very very much more could be done if the organization was properly managed it is a sad, sad waste that truly results in lives not being salvaged.
I do understand that if Loaves & Fishes was suddenly fully absent, a lot of people would in a world of trouble.
But is THAT the criteria that should be used? Comparing Loaves & Fishes to having nothing?
I know men who have been barred for life from L&F whose conduct at the mission was no different. But at the mission, they are motivated to save people rather than control them.
Yes, of course, Libby ACTS compassionately. But that is just one of her performances; she is in shape-shifting performance for each of her varying audiences. [See "Libby Fernandez: NOT a friend of the homeless."
As for the politics, the weird commutarian/ Dorothy Day / Catholic Workers Uhion politics of Loaves & Fishes alienates conservative involvement in understanding and helping the homeless through secular means. In San Antonio, Texas, the WHOLE of the metropolis is united and is much more responsive to homeless needs. THEIR example is -- in many ways, at least -- what should be followed. [btw, I am decidedly NOT conservative; I'm a traditional liberal.]
I do understand your gratitude toward L&F, but, truly, other people have suffered mightily directly because of Loaves & Fishes. Sacramento could be doing better than having L&F at the center of its homeless-help effort. Indeed, it is incredible bad luck that Loaves & Fishes exists. If the Delanys hadn't come along, a much better homeless-help charity would have come along in the 80s.