[Homan said it's all a misunderstanding. The group is, he said, primarily an educational service. According to its Web site, the people in their 20s who knock on doors and stop pedestrians on the street are actually engaged in a dialogue that "allows us to educate each person about homelessness in San Francisco and around the bay." In fact, the majority of the services budget goes to "community outreach education," the site states.]
Huh, go figure. Here us dumb ol homeless advocates everywhere else in the country are providing "dialogue that allows us to educate each person about homelessness" for free.
$100 grand would help pay a lot of deposits, get ids, provide food, assist with job training, and purchase bus passes for job hunting in a whole lotta pockets around these woods. Of course, we say the same thing about people earning big bucks to figure out what to do to help those experiencing homelessness around here, too.
One also has to wonder just how badly this will harden the hearts of those who are sick and tired of being scammed by organizations who pay lip service to important issues while lining their own pockets.
Seems like a continuation of a trend that started back about the time Ronald Reagan took office.
To be fair though, we're only getting one side of the story and I wonder what the Homeless Services Coalition's side of this is, without media filtering?
To be fair though, we're only getting one side of the story and I wonder what the Homeless Services Coalition's side of this is, without media filtering?
Homeless 'education' group not learning lesson
C.W. Nevius
Saturday, February 28, 2009
The issue of homelessness in San Francisco is contentious enough. Now a new homeless advocacy group - the Homeless Services Coalition - has arrived from Los Angeles to stop pedestrians on the street, ask for money, and lecture us about our problem.
Needless to say, this group is not popular. After all, people regularly complain that the city already has too many service providers. But it is interesting that some of the most vociferous opponents are longtime homeless advocates.
Jeff Kositsky, executive director of the Community Housing Partnership, called the group "very suspect." Erica Kisch, executive director of Compass Community Services 2, said she still hears that the group claims to raise money for Compass even though she has repeatedly asked them to stop.
"They are not listening," Kisch said.
Paul Boden, the director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project, said, "This kind of exploitation ultimately hurts homeless families, homeless service providers, and takes our society further away from actually arriving at a solution."
For a charitable organization that says it is dedicated to ending homelessness, the Homeless Services Coalition has not made many friends since it arrived here in September 2007.
"I feel like we have reached out, attended meetings, and I haven't gotten anything but negativity," said Matthew Homan, community liaison director for the group. "I don't feel there has been good will."
At issue are the group's financial records.
Their 2007 tax returns indicate that they took in $172,627 in total revenue and donated just $20,170 to three charities. The filing states they spent nearly $100,000 on salaries. (In 2008, Homan estimates the group took in $200,000 and donated roughly $50,000.)
Sandra Miniutti, spokeswoman for Charity Navigator, a nationwide group that evaluates charitable organizations, said those numbers raise a red flag.
"A lot of this does not pass the smell test," she said. "We recommend that organizations spend 75 percent of their expenses on programs versus fundraising and administration."
But Homan said it's all a misunderstanding. The group is, he said, primarily an educational service. According to its Web site, the people in their 20s who knock on doors and stop pedestrians on the street are actually engaged in a dialogue that "allows us to educate each person about homelessness in San Francisco and around the bay." In fact, the majority of the services budget goes to "community outreach education," the site states.
But some say it feels more like solicitation. Kositsky said a canvasser came to his front door and spoke to his wife, who is also active in homeless causes.
"They were not trying to educate my wife about homelessness," he said. "They were trying to get her to donate money."
Homan said he is surprised to hear that people are confused about where their donations go. He said it is made perfectly clear on the Web site: 61 percent to outreach education, 25 percent to "linking resources" - donating clothing, hygiene supplies, and coats - and 14 percent in "direct donations to homeless services."
"We are fundraising for our organization," he said. "As a sort of bonus, we make a donation to shelters."
But if that is the case, why has it been so hard to get them to stop saying they work with organizations like Compass? Dariush Kayhan, the mayor's homeless policy director, said he was recently stopped by canvassers who said they were collecting money partly for the Compass program.
"I told them it was my understanding that hadn't been true for a year and a half," Kayhan said. "Both of them told me that they were absolutely sure the money was going to Compass and that I had it wrong."
Just another misunderstanding, Homan said. The group knows that Compass has asked not to be included in the solicitations, but hey, if someone wants to know where there are shelters for homeless families, and since there are only four in the city, Compass might just come up in the conversation.
And round and round we go. We could argue about this for hours. At the end of the day there are three important points. One, soliciting people for money is not the same as educating them. Two, when a reputable charity organization asks you to stop using their name, you should do it.
And finally, if you really think the people of San Francisco need to be told that there is a homeless problem, you don't belong here.
C.W. Nevius' column runs Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail him at cwnevius@sfchronicle.com.
