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Letter to the Editor

Published Tuesday, August 10, 2010 3:14 PM

Summerville Journal Scene ®

Dear SJS Editors,

In regards to last week’s front page story on the Palmetto House (“Palmetto House Out More Than $100K”), thank you for the opportunity to provide clarification for your readers.

As with many non-profit organizations today, the Palmetto House and its board, the Dorchester Interfaith Outreach Ministries (DIOM), are navigating difficult economic waters while charting a new course in pursuit of our core mission. We continue to provide basic necessities – food, shelter and clothing – as well as educational assistance, counseling, vocational readiness training, and case management services to up to 30 men, women and children every day, around the clock, 365 days a year. Through our Soup Kitchen program last year, over 30,000 meals were served to not only homeless individuals but also the poor or hungry in our community – no one is ever turned away.

There is no doubt that the decision at the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) to not renew the Emergency Shelter Grant this year will impact our budget and make it more difficult to provide quality services to our residents and members of the community. The missed opportunity to apply for a Coastal Community Foundation (CCF) grant ($10,000, not $50K as reported, making the total amount $60K, not $100K) will also impact our bottom line. (For the record, we have actually applied for and received other grants, such as the Bakker Family Grant, through the CCF this year.)

Regarding the Journal Scene’s report, however, the incorrectly magnified picture of our financial situation may have served to harm the Palmetto House’s reputation and perhaps jeopardize our ability to compete for future grants.

In addition to misreporting on the amount of the Coastal Community Foundation grant, we assert the following errors were made, either by the Journal Scene or the OEO, and we request that these statements be corrected:

1) The Board was not ‘hard to reach:’ The Board Chair present at the on-site meeting with the review team, and the Treasurer responded to requests for information from the OEO over the phone within 72 hours regarding budget questions.

2) The ESG grant was not late: We have in our records a signed, certified receipt from the USPS verifying that the grant application was received on time with the correct number of bound copies, collated, signed and sealed.

3) The grant application was not incomplete: OEO asserts that the Palmetto House application did not contain a “Resident Involvement Policy.” This policy was apparently not labeled correctly in the appendix but was included in the grant application. Furthermore, a former resident (as required by policy) has been a member of the DIOM board for the past year.

Despite the reporter’s suggestion in the report, our board is not ‘negligent’ and there is no “mismanagement” of funds. Our all-volunteer board is made up of hard-working, honest, and intelligent men and women in this community who sacrifice their time, energy and resources to help those in need AND to manage the organization in a fiscally responsible, strategic and transparent manner.

There are many positive developments at the Palmetto House in the past year that were not mentioned in the story as a result of the board’s and staff’s efforts. They include:

1) A satisfactory audit: Last year, the Palmetto House paid $8,000 to conduct an audit in order to be in compliance with state grant requirements. The audit proved to be a healthy process and no concerns were raised. While such audits are costly, it is DIOM policy to be in compliance with grant requirements and conduct either an audit or a financial review each year.

2) A balanced budget: From 2006-2008, the Palmetto House’s expenses far outpaced revenue, but we were able to survive financially due to a large state grant received in Q1 ‘06. Last year, through diligent focus and intense discussion, the board was able to create a balanced fiscal scenario – a small positive cash balance in Q1 ’10 was the first of its kind in nearly three years!

3) A surge in volunteer and community support: Last summer, as part of the effort to balance the budget, the board made the decision to cut back on staff costs and rely on volunteers as much as possible, as had been the case when the shelter first opened following Hurricane Hugo. When the call went out, the response from the community was nearly overwhelming, with ideas for how to improve services coming from many of them. Volunteers like Debbie Williams of Signet HR Consultants and Phil Schaffner have developed new vocational readiness and training courses for residents that support efforts to return to productive employment and eventually stable housing.

4) A board strengthening initiative: A board retreat held in January 2010 focused on helping new and existing board members articulate the core values of the Palmetto House and a mission and vision ‘refreshed’ for the year ahead. A second retreat is scheduled for August 28th at Baum Temple and will be led by Joan Ustin, a highly successful organizational consultant from Charleston who is providing her services, time and energy through our non-profit support association, SCANPO, of which the Palmetto House is a member.

The Journal Scene is an important media tool for our community. We welcome the opportunity to report on our successes and are pleased for the Journal Scene to discuss with us any recommendations it has for improving service delivered in our community.

Sincerely,

The Board of the Dorchester Interfaith Outreach Ministries

Executive Committee:

Dan Edwards, Chair

Webb Charpia, Vice-Chair

Charlotte Allen, Treasurer

Shirley Boisselle, Secretary

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