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Editorial: New Beginnings treatment of homeless needs review

 
The U.S. Department of Labor should investigate the New Beginnings program, and local and state contractors should sever ties with the organization until charges are resolved.
The U.S. Department of Labor should investigate the New Beginnings program, and local and state contractors should sever ties with the organization until charges are resolved.
Published Dec. 9, 2014

Exploiting the homeless is wrong, even in the pursuit of salvation. The question now is whether a Tampa ministry broke the law by making money off its clients whom it steered into unpaid jobs. The U.S. Department of Labor should investigate the New Beginnings program, and local and state contractors should sever ties with the organization until these charges are resolved. That includes the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which unlike other sports franchises has remained quiet about its ties to this suspect operation.

The Tampa Bay Times' Will Hobson reported that New Beginnings — one of Tampa's largest homeless charities — has for years worked its clients in a range of industries under a scheme that generates revenue for the charity. New Beginnings has sent unpaid labor crews to work Tampa Bay Rays, Lightning and Buccaneer games, the Daytona 500 and the Florida State Fair. Its crews also have worked in construction, landscaping and other labor-intensive industries.

The program's founder and chief executive, Tom Atchison, calls it "work therapy" that helps the homeless and the ministry. Atchison claims that without the money his crews bring in, the program would be forced to turn people away, putting them back on the street and denying them a chance to put their lives together. He said the jobs at sports venues were taken voluntarily, and that other outside jobs had actually provided clients with pay that the charity held and managed.

This is in no way an arm's-length relationship between a social welfare provider and the down-and-out. It smacks of old-fashioned indentured servitude. Hiring out its clients also makes New Beginnings less of a charity and more of a labor pool. And retaining control over its clients' money in agency accounts invites abuse. Employees and residents said New Beginnings took residents' Social Security checks and food stamps, even if they amounted to more than the residents owed — a charge Atchison denies. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement closed a lengthy investigation in 2008 without seeking charges.

But it's time for a fresh look in the wake of New Beginnings' attempt to secure new public business as a homeless shelter provider in Hillsborough County. The county, citing the charity's failure to pass a financial review, dropped New Beginnings as a bidder in a contract that goes to county commissioners today. Atchison said the county move was in response to the Times' reporting.

But even Atchison welcomes an investigation — "bring it on," he said. The arrangement is seedy at best. The Lightning ended its ties to New Beginnings last year due to "reliability" concerns, a team spokesman said. The Rays, in a statement Monday, said the team had "voiced our concerns" to its concessionaire, Centerplate. The Bucs, the region's most highly valued sports franchise, have curiously declined to comment although their concessionaire, Aramark, said late Tuesday they are reviewing the relationship with New Beginnings. The Bucs, like others who have relied on New Beginnings for workers, have an obligation to ensure that operations masquerading as occupational programs actually benefit those who do the work.