Why I Will Never Drop Another Quarter Into The Salvation Army Kettles.

Marc85902 · 12-04-2007, 03:53 PM

WHY I WILL NEVER DROP ANOTHER QUARTER
INTO THE SALVATION ARMY KETTLES.

by Marc 85902

November 2004 found me in Tucson, Arizona, for the purpose of seeking employment. Because I was so close to broke it was barely noticeable, I was compelled to seek shelter in one of the several shelters for homeless people in the city.

I stayed at the Primavera men’s shelter* for a time, and then moved to the Salvation Army’s ‘Hospitality House’ (which I shall refer to hereafter as the Inhospitable House—because the stringent application of their “The Rules” made the hospitality very threadbare indeed).

The several things I considered to be wrong with the way they ran the place were as follows:

1. They kick everyone out at seven-thirty a.m. and would not let you return until three p.m. at the earliest and five p.m. at the latest. Now, if you were seeking employment (as was I) how could you do an effective job-search; calling prospective employers to arrange appointments for interviews, or at least ask to come in and fill out a job application if you can’t stay to use the phone? And if you did manage to get a job, how could you remain at it until the official quitting time, which is usually five p.m.? And if you had to use the city transit system, the busses might not run soon enough to allow one working at a distance from the shelter to return back there in time to comply with the five p.m. curfew.

2. Their fanatical adherence to “The Rules” is another bone I have to pick with them. I found a church to worship at that was close enough for me to make it over & back on my bicycle, and when they were having a Sunday evening special time (putting up the Christmas decorations) I asked for a one-time exception to “The Rules” to go out and come back at a later hour—I estimated eight p.m. ‘No,’ I was told. ‘The Rules’ will not allow it’. The purpose of this “Rule” is supposedly to prevent the alcoholics and other drug users from making a connection for booze or another drug of choice in the immediate neighborhood. However, I personally saw a small clique of potheads having a smoking party out on the cigarette deck when I was using the laundry to wash & dry my clothes. It was this confrontation over “The Rules” that led me to leave that place, and vow to never return. It appeared to me that ‘the rules’ were considered Holy Writ, brought down from Mount Sinai by Moses, engraved on a stone tablet by God’s finger.

3. The multi-tier chow line: it appeared to me that the lowly residents got the dregs, and not all that much of that, either; the people who actually had jobs, enrolled in a ‘program’, got more and better, and probably the permanent staffers got the best and most. Those three items are what I recall best. I got the distinct impression that the inhospitable house was an organization that would have functioned flawlessly if only it did not have the people inflicted upon it.

I suppose that I might be accused of failing to understand why they have “the rules”. Well, if the purpose of “The Rules” is to keep the residents (or inmates) from consuming alcohol or other drugs, it’s an abysmal failure—I saw the potheads having their little pot-party. They run the place as close to a pod of the county jail as they can get away with—and if they could keep everyone locked down 24/7, I bet they would.

During my stay there, I was ripped off—one bicycle headlight from my bike, two bottles of fluoride mouthwash and my other toothcare gear—I guess whoever swiped my stuff just wanted a buzz—however, there was no alcohol in the stuff, just fluoride. I hope they got a good gut-ache from it, too—and a pair of sunglasses. ‘We can’t be responsible for your property. Sorrrreeeee…’

Well, if you’re running the place as close to an Arizona DOC** complex as possible, then you ought to accept some degree of responsibility, people.
A dear friend of mine, Jennifer Trout,*** said something like: “They’re all so afraid of the poor.” Why? Is poverty contagious, like TB?@

What it boils down to, I guess, is that a collection of petty potentates on some kind of power-trip, who worship “The Rules” as though they were God Himself, are running—or should I say misrunning—things down there.
And it’s a real pity, too; because there is a need for shelters for the homeless. But they need to be divided up to house separate categories of residents. One type for the drunks and junkies—who are most of the residents, I must state, but another type for those who are merely down on their luck and need some help bootstrapping themselves back up into the mainstream. Being viewed as a drunk or junkie, when you are not, is quite discouraging, disheartening, and thoroughly ticked me off—completely, in fact.

Oh well—so endeth this tale. One thing is certain, however; I won’t be dropping another quarter into the red kettles this year—or any other, anymore. I won’t subsidize their “The Rules”-ridden organization. Not anymore.#

The End

Endnotes:

*While I was there, I personally saw nothing amiss, but as the petition circulated by Ivan Owens, the former kitchen boss states, there was plenty wrong. I have reproduced it below:

Petition For Positive Change

At The Primavera Men’s Shelter!

We the petitioners herein and forthwith petition the Administration at the Primavera Foundation to institute changes in the following conditions that currently exist at the men’s shelter at 200 E. Benson Highway which are contradictory of your mission statement and goals pertaining to the guests of the shelter.

Contempt and disrespect of guests by shelter staff.
Gang and prison mentality, which dictate unwritten policy at the shelter.

Drug and alcohol consumption by staff and clients on shelter property.

Health and safety regulations in the kitchen and restroom areas at the shelter.

Fair distribution of clothes and food donations to guests at the shelter.

Furtherance of the Foundation’s Mission Statement and goals in making knowledge of programs that can help guests who are willing to take advantage of them, better themselves and become productive members of society.

We, the undersigned, respectfully request that these needed and necessary changes are to be implemented immediately.

(Yes, I did sign it.)

** Department Of Corrections.

*** A pseudonym.

@To be admitted to the Inhospitable House, I had to go to the Pima County Health Department and be tested for TB (I was negative). This policy was also in force at another homeless shelter I briefly stayed at, too. I guess TB must be making a real comeback for sure.

# In the final analysis, I guess what really ticked me off was the constant, neverending attitude that ‘You’re just a good-for-nothing drunk or junkie, and if we let you out—or anyone at all out, you’d just make a beeline for the nearest bar or street pusher and get high.’ You see, I don’t even drink. And it rather ticked me off, after a short time. I guess in the final analysis, that’s why I won’t go back there—or drop any more quarters into their kettles. As of now, the writ of “The Rules” doesn’t run beyond those shelter walls. Let’s keep it that way, shall we?