Commitments Should Be Kept.....

I've chewed on what I'm about to discuss for two days now and I will say that my decision to even mention it here in an open forum took considerable deliberation. But I feel it must be mentioned here, because the actions - or lack thereof - that I'm about to detail have a negative impact on all of us who consider ourselves to be advocates to the Homeless and the less fortunate in our community. Let me preface this discussion further by first quoting at length an article by Jill Doner Kagle that ran back in 1998 in The Social Service Review:

"One of the cornerstones of social work practice theory is the assumption that successful social worker--client relationships are built on trust. Social workers and their clients must rely on each other to be candid and truthful, regardless of the nature of their transactions. Workers depend on clients to share their feelings, thoughts, opinions, and experiences and they work together to shape the purpose and process of service. Clients expect workers to be fair and forthright in providing them with needed information and sound professional advice. Indeed, open and honest behavior would seem to be in workers' and clients' best interests. Deception not only breaches personal moral values and professional ethics; it can also undermine the professional alliance and the quality of services that result. Moreover, deception places clients and workers at risk of discovery and reprisal, notoriety and punishment."

My clients know that if I tell them something, they can take it to the bank. Now, I'm not perfect and I surely don't claim to be. I've missed an occasional general appointment due to extenuating circumstances, and at times I have been unable to fulfill all the demands that clients have placed on me, but I've tried very hard to ensure that they always got the truth from me, no matter how difficult it was to provide it to them. One thing is for damned sure though: if I tell you I'll be somewhere to pick you up, especially if something important is at stake, you can rest assured that, barring a breakdown or an act of God, I'll be there, on time and ready to go. Make no mistake, on the street your word is your bond and your reputation as well. You're either a straight-up dude or a bullshitter, and there isn't much gray area here. Forgive me for the following language, but If you're known to "fuck off your peeps," it won't take long until your street cred is completely destroyed. Of course, this doesn't matter to some individuals and agencies, since they have services that one must use regardless of whether they've screwed you over previously, but when you're an advocate and you let down your clients, you've really done a number on yourself and your organization. So here's why I've written this: At some point late last week, a prominent advocacy organization had a notice placed on the door at the Community Care Fellowship building stating they would be picking up people who wanted to attend the funeral of Patricia Corbitt over at the liquor store close to where she passed away. The scheduled pick-up time was to be 9am Saturday morning. Incidentally, I could overlook the distasteful and rather ironic idea of picking up people, many of whom struggle with their own alcohol addictions, at a liquor store to take them to an alcoholic's funeral. I could overlook this because I knew that their hearts were in the right place for wanting to provide transportation to those who may not be able to get there otherwise. What I cannot understand - nor forgive - is their no-show that morning. I'm just damned glad I stuck around for the additional time in order to pick up those who needed a ride, and I'm doubly glad that Tony, from the Homeless Task Force, made a pass by the area as well and picked up the remaining stragglers, otherwise, NONE of Patricia's friends would have been able to attend her funeral. I probably wouldn't have even mentioned this had it been a one-time thing, but I've been told by a number of folks this isn't the first time this has happened with this organization, either. Apparently last year there was supposed to have been a bus scheduled to pick up mourners for the services of Tara Cole that never arrived, and for the life of me, I cannot understand how it is that an organization so committed to assisting the Homeless could stand up their constituency not once, but twice - and at a time when that constituency needed them the most. There could be a dozen reasons as to why this organization was unable to make their scheduled pickup that morning and I can understand that - "stuff happens" and sometimes, even the best laid plans go awry. But I was back and forth between CCF and the liquor store from 7:55am to 9:20am and not only did they not arrive to provide rides, no one bothered to call or swing by and tell us that they wouldn't be coming at all, either. Granted, they might not have known I was going to be picking folks up and didn't know who to contact, but at the very least, someone could have come over to the liquor store just to let folks know what happened. We managed just fine without them however, and those who wanted to see Patricia off were able to do so. I've not mentioned their name here because while their reputation has been badly damaged once again within the Homeless community, I'd rather not add insult to injury by naming them publicly. They know who they are and their members read this blog. I just hope this post initiates some additional sense of responsibility in them when it comes to carrying out their commitments to the constituency they so vociferously claim to advocate for....