Published: June 24, 2009 11:46 am      

GESENHUES: Check your egos at the homeless shelter door

There has been talk about a new homeless shelter in New Albany. A recent article in this very paper confirmed that local leaders from the Salvation Army, Floyd County Community Housing Development, and Interfaith Community Council could serve as, “key players in the group,” that could make it happen.

What a great idea ... a community effort we could all stand behind. Or, so I thought. I kept reading the article to learn that the director of the Haven House, the only existing homeless shelter in the area (located in Jeffersonville), has a problem with it. So big of a problem that she used the very people she was supposed to be helping to show how displeased she was.

Let me make it clear that I know only of this story from articles in The New Albany Tribune and Evening News. I have not completed any investigative work or made any calls to ask if the people involved would like to defend or incriminate any of their counterparts. I am acting only as an observer who is a bit mortified by what I’ve read.

If you haven’t been following this storyline, here’s a quick recap: Leaders from our local Salvation Army want a geographically accessible homeless shelter in the New Albany area. Their plan is to do the research, determine if the data supports the need, and then seek financing through grant-writing efforts.

During a recent Southern Indiana Housing Initiative meeting, comments made by these leaders were said to have “irked” the director of Jeffersonville’s Haven House. She was so “irked” at the meeting that she told a reporter for the Jeffersonville Evening News that she was going to close down her shelter for the weekend (again, the only existing homeless shelter in the area).

That can’t be a good idea, I thought. Wouldn’t closing the shelter to prove a point only hurt the people in need?

It turns out that the Haven House Director did not close for the weekend, but instead, one-upped herself by having a Haven House van “deliver” eight of the homeless persons from her shelter to the New Albany Salvation Army at 3:30 on that Friday afternoon. Her intention was to catch the Salvation Army off-guard and prove that they couldn’t handle persons in need. Before she scheduled the van to arrive at the Salvation Army, she called the Publisher of the Evening News to stage a media coupe in an attempt to set up the Salvation Army to fail.

The director of a homeless shelter was using her own clients to put egg on the face of another organization that serves the homeless.

When Operation-Egg-On-Their-Face did not go as planned (the New Albany Salvation Army was able to make arrangements at a homeless shelter in Louisville), the Haven House director had the van return and with all the people she had sent to wage her war.

I would never claim to know the headaches and heartaches involved with managing a homeless shelter. I’m sure the director of the Haven House has brought much relief to many in need through the years without adequate funds, resources, or personnel. But, as the director for a social services agency, your primary responsibility is to serve those in need at all times, especially the times you are being criticized and your agency is being threatened.

Aren’t there enough battles when it comes to defending the less fortunate? Why wage war on an army that simply wants to help the same people you are trying to help? By pulling the stunt she did, Haven House’s director hurt her reputation, maligned her organization’s purpose, and betrayed the very people she is suppose to be serving. Her fight has turned from defending the homeless to defending herself.

Sometimes you have to step away from something when you’re no longer in control and letting your ego make all of your decisions for you. The director of the Haven House needs to reconsider her position. If ever there was a time for an ego to be checked at the door ... it is at the front door of a homeless shelter.

Amy Gesenhues is a freelance writer who lives in Floyd County. You can read her daily commentaries at www.AmyWroteIt.Wordpress.com. E-mail her directly at amy@amywroteit.com.