A Scandal... Maybe.

Okay, truthseekers, I am hoping this one is not true. Truth be told, it is based on hearsay. I don't want to slander anyone, but if the accusations are true, then a worldwide charity organization may be guilty of extortion and fraud. If it turns out that I am wrong, and this story is untrue, then I will gladly retract this.

The basic gist of it is, I've heard that the local Salvation Army homeless shelter is requiring homeless people who want to stay there to apply for food stamps, whereupon they must surrender 80% of those food stamps to the Salvation Army! And, they're also directing those homeless persons to apply for a small amount of cash assistance that is available to them for personal needs, so they can also hand over 30% of that assistance to the Salvation Army!

If this is true, it is infuriating. Besides the fact that the Salvation Army is a religious organization and is tax-exempt, and probably receives considerable tax breaks, federal grants, and other such perks thanks to the Bush/Cheney "faith based" free-for-all, how dare they exploit homeless people by using them as a tool by which they can suck money from taxpayers and funnel it into their proselytizing coffers under false pretenses. Besides, public assistance benefits are required to be used in specific ways. They are most definitely not intended to be bartered as rent, or worse yet, extorted by some christian authority figures who strong-arm the vulnerable homeless and shake them down for their public assistance like some schoolyard punk bullying a smaller and weaker kid out of their lunch money. It is also worth mentioning that I live in a small, economically disadvantged community where homeless peoples' options for finding shelter are limited.

I intend to follow-up on this until I know what is really going on. If the Salvation Army is doing this, it cannot be allowed to continue. It's unethical, and most likely illegal.

Again, I am operating on verbal hearsay, and my information has not yet been confirmed. Anyone reading this, who is of a mind to get in on the ground floor of a scandal that has not yet appeared in the media, might want to check out their local Salvation Army homeless shelter and see if this may be happening in their community.

Blog on, truthseekers, and power to the people.