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."
Peace on earth goodwill towards man. God bless you all this Christmas eve and thanks for the lively debate. I love it as long as we can all agree to disagree and still be friends. I think that is what this board is for. Gotta go. Later
Yes... She was there for months, has been trouble before, and was thrown out. I've worked with the people who do this kind of work and I'd trust their judgment over a story designed to make us feel sorry for this woman.
I feel sorry for her too. She'll get another chance, and another, I hope. She's young, she's got a tough row to hoe, who knows, maybe this will put her back in touch with her family.
On the other hand, think of the Christmas miracle this is for someone else who can now get in to this shelter for Christmas. Someone else who now has this chance.
Permit us the same Godly wisdom. Thank you.
The proper question is, "Where are the fathers?" As in plural.
I agree... they could have shown compassion for the children and let them have a Christmas.
To many people get caught up in harsh love and miss out on the love part.
I hope you realize that in this verse Jesus is speaking about a Christian "brother" and not just another human being whois not a believer.
Or fathers.
I'm split on this issue.
On the one hand, she was thrown out before Christmas, with her children punished for her breaking the rules...
On the other, She must have known the rules in the first place, and should have obeyed them for her children...
I guess this place had a lot of "Uncles, Brothers, and male cousins" visiting in the past and is tring to cut down on the "pregnant young woman in the shelter" sterotype.
as posted by another upthread, there is an aunt and uncle who could take them in. Bush's Faith Based Initiative is meant to help local communities take care of their own. If communities and churches and especially struggling people's extended families accomplished this there would be little call for government involvement. Of course many of those who are struggling are there because they trampled boundaries with their kin and burned bridges....even so, I have every anticipation that this woman and her kids DO have a place to stay--and I hope she wakes up and smells the coffee about what's been bassackwards in her courtship(s)...for the sake of her kids.
Jesus would probably say "Obey the rules."
Could be he is dead. Maybe he was a soldier in Afghanistan or Iraq. Maybe he died from something else, maybe he was just a rotten sob and ran off. We really don't have enough info to start jumping to conclusions. As for being poor and owing a car it is simple. You bought the car before you became poor. As far as relatives go, maybe her Uncle won't let her stay with him because he is just as heartless as the manager of the shelter. Her aunt was also in the room with her, what was the big deal? I also have to disagree with his inane remark that Jesus would have kicked her out too. What a jerk, and the rest of you who are siding with this guy are jerks too. Just my opinion of course.
I'm a bit torn here. On one hand, a visit from the childrens' aunt and uncle would appear quite innocuous. Yes, he's a man, but his wife was with him and you'd think that with some common sense it would be recognized that this was not the mother attempting to smuggle a boyfriend in as a "cousin" or "uncle."
On the other hand, she knew the rules and I'm sure there was a common room of some sort that they could have used to have their visit.
Only in America do most of our poor drive cars, have cable TV, and talk on cell phones. I read somewhere that of those considered to be below the poverty line in the US, a surprisingly large number of our "poor" actually own their own home! Go to Africa or parts of Asia and we would see genuine poverty!
Three small children...how could anyone throw them out.
At least she is keeping her children, she has not put them out for adoption.
I will keep her in my prayers. Pray that she gets an opportunity to improve her life. Hopefully someone will read this story and will help her get training for a job.
Obvious answer: If this were the case, the author would have included it in the story, as the sole purpose of the article was to elicit your sympathy. It worked.
the rest of you who are siding with this guy are jerks too
Mighty presumptuous of you, O Newbie. Merry Christmas, and may God bless you and your family.
I was hoping to be polite.
Je$$ie Jack$on says that it's George Bush's fault.
"According to the latest economic reports from the E.U., Germany has just surpassed the economy of Arkansas (the poorest state in the USA - usually) Our "poor", if they moved to the EU, would be in the TOP 10% richest in europe!!"
Germany has the 5th largest national economy in the world according to the CIA World Fact Book.
The top 10%? Fiction.
Truly bad karma.
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