Posted on 12/24/2004 6:10:16 PM PST by jb6
12-23-04
From Staff Reports
Posted 2:05 p.m.
ELIZABETH CITY (AP) — The director of a homeless shelter says he was right to evict a 21-year-old pregnant woman and her three children after the woman violated one of the shelter's rules by allowing her children's uncle to visit in her room.
"We have to have order," said the Rev. Oliver S. Robinson, director of the Tabernacle of Faith Church Outreach Center. "She herself created this situation. She is a young woman who does not want to listen to anybody. And it don't matter what time of year it is, winter time, Christmas time, cold time or whatever."
Valan Garland and her three boys were evicted Tuesday from the shelter, where they had stayed for about four months while waiting for an income-based apartment to open. She paid $50 a month as a donation.
On Tuesday, however, she broke one of the shelter's strict rules, Garland said. The paternal aunt and uncle of her three children came to visit their nephews. When the shelter's caretaker, Rhonda O'Neal, returned, Garland says she realized there was a man in her room.
Garland said she asked the couple to continue their visit outside, which they did. But Robinson told Garland she had to leave, giving until 9 a.m. Wednesday to vacate.
"These are not the easiest people to deal with," Robinson said of shelter clients. "We have to have rules and order."
Garland, eight months pregnant, began crying as she strapped her children into their car seats after loading the trunk of her car with belongings. She then left with Xavier, 1, Javonte, 3, and T'Keel, 5, still in their bedclothes.
At least until Christmas, the family plans to stay with Garland's mother in a one-room apartment in Edenton.
The two-story shelter has been a soup kitchen since 1996. In 1998 also became a shelter for women and children. The approximately 2,000-square-foot building has 10 beds in two apartments and a loft.
Garland sees no parallels between her situation and that of the biblical Mary and Joseph, who couldn't find any place to stay for the night on what's considered the first Christmas Eve.
"I don't know if I feel like this is related to Jesus and Mary," Garland said. "But I do feel like it has something to do with the devil. The devil has to put it in your heart to put children out in the night three days before Christmas."
Robinson said his shelter is a credit to the community.
"These people need tough love," Robinson said. "I don't feel comfortable with it. God don't get no pleasure punishing us. But he does it. Jesus would have done the same thing."
I think he would have.
Thou doth protest too much.
DING DING DING!!! We have a winner!
And the voice of reason only took fifty posts to arrive.
"I guess this place had a lot of "Uncles, Brothers, and male cousins" visiting in the past"
Maybe so. The reporting is typical incompetent crap, so we can only surmise as to the real story here. All I can suggest with confidence, is that this is probably only the tip of this particular iceberg.
Look, I'm not saying what she did was okay or even that she's a nice person. I understand why they have these kind of rules. I just thought that at Christmas time maybe this good christian could have cut her some slack for the sake of her kids and given her a little more time to find somewhere else to go. He told her tuesday to be out by 9 a.m. wednesday.
Sometimes I read a article like this and it really frosts me, so this time I spouted off a little.
"I guess this place had a lot of "Uncles, Brothers, and male cousins" visiting in the past"
Maybe so. The reporting is typical incompetent crap, so we can only surmise as to the real story here. All I can suggest with confidence, is that this is probably only the tip of this particular iceberg.
You people are unbelievable. Jesus was grace and salvation to the huddled masses, including I may add a harlot. Surely what this lady did was nothing in comparison to that.
I wouldn't propose to imagine what He would have done in this situation, but He would have wanted the young lady to follow the rules of the house
Excusing bad behavior by citing worse behavior.
Seesh.
Why are you complaining about that post? And mine too. There are FAR WORSE posts, many of them on this thread. That makes mine OK. (That was sarcasm BTW)
Christian charity holds people to account. This isn't a government program -- an 'entitlement.'
Harsh? Maybe. Unchristianlike? Not at all.
I am sure that if you contacted the shelter they would help you get in touch with this woman so that you can show some love and charity when you take her into your house -- without any silly rules to restrict her, of course.
Perhaps the best thing that she could do for her children is to give them up to good homes, then she can find herself a job and get herself straightened out. Or are we 'entitled' to take care of her?
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