Haven House Revisited

HARBESON: Reflections on my Haven House column

JEFFERSONVILLE — Every once in a while, after writing about a specific topic, I sometimes wonder if I should have just kept my mouth shut. When this happens, I always know exactly what to do: Keep spouting off about the issue.

The specific column I’m referring to is one I wrote in September about Haven House. I did not expect the reaction I received after stating that I cannot in good conscience contribute to an organization that does not appear to be under competent financial management.

The responses I received, whether in writing or in person, were overwhelmingly in support of what I said and I was surprised to hear from so many people whose work is focused on helping those in need.

Even so, something still didn’t feel quite right and I’ve been trying to figure out why. It may have something to do with the unusual experience I had that led to the writing of that piece.

I subscribe to several email lists that pertain to home education and sometimes general parenting issues are discussed, too. One day, a young mother I’ve never met shared a struggle she was having and asked for support and guidance.

I could relate so well and I knew I could help. It really didn’t take much time to respond and I didn’t think much more about it until the next day when I received a private reply from her.

She told me that I really gave her spiritual food and said it might sound odd, but she had made a personal decision to tithe to people who give her spiritual food. I thought that was very interesting and decided I would accept her offering and pay it forward myself in some manner. The amount was really not that much in the grand scheme of things, but it was far more than I expected.

I’m not sure now why I decided to earmark this little windfall for the homeless. The reason the two of us connected had nothing to do with the homeless — we connected because we both reject spanking as a valid method of raising children.

Still, for whatever reason, I chose to pay this forward to help the homeless in some way. But when I thought about how to go about doing that, it reintroduced old feelings of frustration surrounding the management of Haven House.

I could have just kept my mouth shut and quietly worked around the organization. That’s what I did in the end anyway because after getting a recommendation from someone I trust, I purchased specific items for another group who assists the homeless.

So I could have just completely ignored Haven House and its issues. Instead, I wrote the column. And even though I wouldn’t change a word, I still wonder if I might feel better about the whole tithing experience if I had just quietly paid it forward instead.

Ahh, but maybe the whole purpose of the tithe coming when it did was to get me to say out loud what I, and apparently many others, have been thinking for such a long time.

I think it bothered me for a while because this was a situation where I was not forced to do anything at all. Donating to Haven House or not was completely under my control. No one was pointing a gun at me and telling me what to do like government organizations do.

So why did I feel the need to tell everyone why I would not give to this specific organization? Maybe it’s because even in our voluntary interactions, looking for effective and ethical management of organizations is still an important thing to do.

— Clark County resident Debbie Harbeson only cares about keeping her mouth shut when riding her bike through a gnat cloud.

Haven House, Barbara Anderson and Financial Management

COLUMN NOTES: The topic of this column concerns a long-running controversy in the local area. There is a lot of back story and history but my main concern is the ability to financially manage. I mentioned this issue once before when it looked like others were going to take over. Unfortunately, even after the property was auctioned off for payroll taxes that were intentionally unpaid, the property still ended up in the same hands. Now the shelter has been in the news again, here and here.

HARBESON: Haven House needs new direction

> SOUTHERN INDIANA — Due to concerns about the ability to make financially responsible decisions, it’s generally agreed that if you encounter homeless people on the street, it’s not a good idea to give them money.

I feel the same way about Haven House, at least as long as Barbara Anderson is in charge.

I cannot in good conscience give money to this local organization helping the homeless because the management has simply not proven to be financially responsible. The most recent example is the discovery that Executive Director Anderson decided to ignore the shelter’s sewer bills since 2008, which has now resulted in a lien being placed on the property.

This is not the first time Anderson made her own decision on what she shouldn’t have to pay. The property was taken from her once and sold at auction for unpaid payroll taxes. (Yes, the property ended up back in her hands.)

I was actually a bit sympathetic the first time, since it was a tax she chose not to pay. Too bad she didn’t take this action based on the principle of taxation being theft — I would have supported her in the protest. That wasn’t the case, of course.

Anderson thinks the work her organization does is important. She’s right. It is important. But it’s not exclusively so. Many people do important work that helps their neighbors — important work that is done in charitable organizations, in for-profit ventures and simply within a circle of family and friends.

Yet, somehow everyone is supposed to believe that what she does matters more than the hard work everyone else is doing. It’s just not so. Even a single individual who can only manage to take care of his or her own needs is doing something that matters.

I do not find her financial decisions on behalf of the Haven House organization acceptable. I do not accept her decision to simply not pay the sewer bill because she determined in her own mind, based on her ideas of how society should work, that they should not have to pay.

She tells us that her organization deserves free sewer service, which of course really means that she wants to force other people to pay. Her attitude of entitlement is certainly not an example I want to see set for the people currently living at the shelter. In addition, ignoring utility bills doesn’t exactly teach lessons of financial responsibility does it?

The problem is complicated even further since government operates sewer service. Politics can easily get intertwined and there is potential for corruption in deciding who gets special favors and who does not.

Anderson herself complained that the private citizen who brought this to everyone’s attention only did it for political reasons.

Anderson claims Haven House deserves special treatment because it provides a service to the city. But the city is merely an abstraction. The service is actually provided to people in need and, again, helping people is something many others are busy doing every day in a variety of ways, while still paying their sewer bills.

So I will never give money to Haven House as long as the current management structure exists. Even though the problem may be directed at a certain individual, let’s be clear that it’s specifically tied into the relationship and involvement the person has to the organization in question. My feelings and actions are no different than deciding not to fund any other entity if it has leadership I do not trust for whatever reason.

I’d rather give money directly to a homeless person to get drunk than give it to an organization that has Anderson making financial decisions.

— Clark County resident Debbie Harbeson sometimes solicits money on the street. Not to get drunk, but to get sloshed on soft serve ice cream.

Special Deal: Three Columns in one Tidy Package

COLUMN NOTES: When possible, I'm linking to articles that give more information on a topic for anyone who wants it. However, often there are several articles as a story progresses so you can always search the newspaper's website to get other articles.





HARBESON: It’s three, three, three columns in one

JEFFERSONVILLE — For many people, spring is a time to work on huge cleaning jobs. Not me though. I’d rather just throw stuff out —it’s much easier. The point is always to avoid work, which is why I’ve decided to clean out my files and throw three topics I’ve been meaning to write about into one column.

Clark County Airport taxing authority

Keeping with the theme of throwing useless things out, Clark County definitely needs to toss the idea of adding yet another layer of government with the ability to take money by force.

Really now, how many Clark County residents think we need to give another group of people the power to take other people’s money to do what THEY think is important? The only time most of us would think this is a good idea would be after flying at too high an altitude in an unpressurized aircraft.

Besides, we’re already funding various airport operations through federal grants and matching funds. If the airport is a solid business idea, then they should be able to figure out how to fly on their own.

I’m certainly not against flying or the Clark County airport. As a matter of fact, our son earned his private pilot’s license there when he was 17. I remember this well because we completely transferred roles the day he took me for a ride in a tiny two-person plane.

I was like a child, excitedly pointing out features like our house and the mall. He smiled, rolled his eyes and said, “Yeah, that’s really cool mom.”

So, our family has a fond connection with the airport, but that doesn’t mean I think other people should be forced to subsidize it even more than they are now.

The airport board says they want a “constant, consistent, dependable” stream of funds. Well gee, don’t we all? Airport officials need to concentrate on finding creative ways to run the business rather than taking funds from their neighbors.

Let’s not add to the local tax messes we already need to clean up.

Haven House and the homeless

I’ve been reading with renewed interest about the changes that appear to be happening regarding the homeless. It’s very encouraging to see several organizations getting involved now. These are all organizations I’ve heard of before and as far as I know they are professionally managed and operated.

Most encouraging of all is that they actually seem to be cooperating with each other as they work to see what can be done to improve the way this issue is handled. I know this issue is strongly tied to and likely even caused by horrendous government intervention in many areas, but it’s very encouraging to see the local homeless issue finally being spring-cleaned of silly territorial and personal power plays.

Clarksville Town employees living rent-free

Speaking of homelessness and spring cleaning, maybe we can all learn from the Clarksville Town Council. Council members have somehow gotten their government hands on several homes and decided to let town employees live there rent-free. Apparently all they have to do is dust and sweep once in a while.

We’re told the town gives these employees 1099 tax forms for the fair market value so I guess this benefit is counted as taxable income. If their salary is reduced in these instances, then I guess it works as a temporary situation.

However, I don’t understand why the town should be holding onto real estate and playing landlord. It’s time for town officials to start their spring cleaning by actively working to sell the extra property they have found themselves hoarding.

SIGLINE:
Sellersburg resident Debbie Harbeson loves to throw useless things out but swears it was a mistake that year her husband ended up on the curb.

(Photo Courtesy Wikimedia Commons)