Loaves & Fishes ends "time out" for homeless

Because it had to – Loaves & Fishes simply can't be closed on Good Friday with its many Catholic donors and volunteers – L&F ended its "time-out for adults" and resumed full-service after a three-plus day homeless-punishment period.

Management at Loaves has a longstanding backward policy of punishing all it serves to retaliate for the bad behaviour of a few. Last Monday, people in L&F's Friendship Park were using or dealing drugs and using alcohol, so the park, with all its services, and men's washroom and possibly other services, was closed – until today.

This morning, the cul-de-sac, where people wait for the Park gates to open, was near empty as 7am approached. In significant part, this was due to heavy rain last night [people in tents or on the street 'slept in'] and the mission recognizing today as a holiday [making wakeup time there 7am, rather than the usual weekday wakeup time of 6am, when the guys staying there have time to get to Loaves before it opens]. It was a bit eerie. May be some people didn't show because they were tired of not being able to depend upon Loaves.

At the Loaves website there's nothing about the closure this week. Of course, they wouldn't want donors to find out, since Loaves has worked hard to convince donors that homeless people are supposed to be helped -- what a notion!

At the charity's webspace, on their About Us page, they post this:

We recognize the dignity and spiritual destiny of each person, and hope by our attitude of hospitality and love, to nourish not only the physical needs of those who come to Loaves & Fishes, but also their spiritual need for love, acceptance, respect, and friendship.

We serve each person with the belief that "often as you did it for one of my least brothers and sisters, you did it for me." (Matthew 25:40)

What crap that is in light of Loaves's actions! Following, is Matthew 25:37-40, a fuller quote of the sentiment from the New Testament that Loaves, with its actions, thumbs its nose at ["The Message," translation]:

Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'

Plus there is another element to be observed.

All organizations ought to be set up so that all motivators are directed toward benefitting those who own it or are served by it.

The worldwide economic fiasco come directly from this misplaced motivation element.

Corporations ended up trying to profit on the short term to greatly enrich senior management, instead of working for the longterm interests of their stockholders and customers.

Governments, today, think of the shortterm – to keep voters happy, so politicos can stay in power, rather than address longterm interests of the nation.

The obligation of Loaves & Fishes is to the homeless and its donors, and not to its Board and senior management. Rather tragically, really, Loaves SAVE MONEYS whenever it closes. It's a no-stress, get-caught-up time for the staff and without their "customers," the homeless, around, there's savings on many expenses.

For Loaves, like for AIG and its executives, there's motivation to do the morally wrong thing.