PADS is a homelessness services charity/organization with 30+ emergency shelters and a myriad of social services and resources for the underserved homeless population in the Southland. I've been a volunteer with this org for many years and I can easily say that I have had some AMAZING times working with PADS in the past. I have learned important lessons about life,and this kind of work blesses you with being able to be a part of helping someone when they need it most. But, like most things in life, the intention is good,but flawed execution can truly take things so far off path that the result is unrecognizable.
I've always admired the hard work, dedication, and pure intentions of some of the staff I know. (Most are no longer associated with the org).However, the organization is going downhill rapidly. You can never get the same answer for a simple question if you are made to ask more than one person. In fact you often get exact opposite answers. You can't get in touch with anyone without leaving half a dozen messages.
The annual "Gala"fundraiser is a huge, unfortunate, antiquated mess run by out of touch or undereducated volunteers who tend to feed off ego and self-righteousness.
There are truly altruistic people involved, but they are overworked, underappreciated, and quite honestly, often treated abusively by the volunteer managers/staff and some of the homeless guests as well. It's a huge commitment for a volunteer and those individuals are, more often than not, taken completely for granted.
The biggest criticism I have is that this system of emergency shelters is meant to be a temporary shelter for critical need, yet there are a large percentage of the guest population who are all allowed to use the sites instead as permanent rotating rent free housing. They simply travel to the different church shelter sites each night, every week, every month, every season, every year for years and years. I mean it's not uncommon for guests to have been coming for 8+ years or longer. They are fed hot meals, often elaborate buffet or catering style dinners and breakfasts, and take full lunches to go when they leave in the morning. That is a beautiful way to serve people who've hit a rough patch, however it's a sign to allow SO MANY to abuse the resources by taking continuously without end in sight. Twice as many people could be fed if resources were more responsibly managed.
It's a classic example of the proverb Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach him how to fish and he will eat forever. So many people are giving giving giving,without thought for the consequences of creating dependency or an environment too readily taken advantage of.
You don't know what "entitled" sounds like until you are serving someone a lovely, volunteer donated, homemade, hot, french toast casserole for breakfast just to hear people complain that it needs more cinnamon or how it's otherwise flawed. A restaurant dropped off an amazing full spiral ham with all the trimmings for dinner at one site I was at and some guests claimed they were treated horribly and "fed slop". I site these examples not to defame the homeless population but to illustrate the harsh shelter culture of no accountability or graciousness that's been allowed to grow unchecked throughout the shelter system. This only serves to taint and darken the original, honorable mission that PADS began with so many years ago.
What I've learned through PADS is to give time, not money or donations until they have improved their responsibility with those gifts. But, not they are phasing out many sites and shutting down shelters throughout the system because churches are closing left and right and grant money isn't their anymore for temporary shelters, the government is supporting providing people with permanent housing. So, in the end perhaps look elsewhere to volunteer. read more
