was it discrimination????

[cmvkitty]

I have a serious question... I am 24 year old mother of two poverty stricten overweight personable person, who likes to talk alot. I have been vollunteering and receiving benefits from a program called mothers helping mothers for 3 1/2 years. Some weeks the only place i went was to vollunteer. I thought I had "friends" there. On saturdays I would go to the clothes closet to find clothes and toys for my children. They would literally beg me to vollunteer(because i am the only spanish translator that vollunteers most days). So instead of searching for the perfect clothing for my children for an hour or two, I would translate and fold clothes for 3 or 4 hours. I usually found a shirt or a pair of shoes or maybe an outfit or 2, but never more than the 14 outfits per child every 3 months. Out of the blue I was told that I wasn't allowed in their federally funded non-profit organization anymore. that the hours and the emotional bonds that i thought i had made were worth nothing and that i was being accused of stealing and creating chaos. I was never asked about MY side of the story.l I was called a liar and a theif in front of alot of people and reduced to tears. they said i could go to the board meeting and face my accuser but that it wouldn't make difference because she new that i was a liar because someone had told her so. i am upset i was angry, hurt and most of all embarrassed by the fact that there are people there telling lies about me and making me to be a pathological liar and a cleptomaniac... please help.

 

[cmvkitty]

doesn't anyone know how to help me.???? I am seriously hurt by the lack of respect shown to me by these people whoa re supposed to help those in need................

 

[buddy2bear]

Well, the reason no one has answered you is probably because we don't know how! You said it is a federally-funded, non-profit organization -- they operate on a totally different set of rules than a normal business. They are insulated from a lot of laws because of their status. You should go to a Board meeting, put your problem forward in a business-like, non-emotional, way. This is basically a "she said, she said" situation and the outcome will depend on who is more important to the organization.

 

[cmvkitty]

Thanks so much for your reply. I know that it seems like I am just whining or something, but I really was offended. I was branded a liar and a theif. I was told that I could attend the next meeting but she said that they will all tell me the same thing so I should just stay away. I don't know what to do, I know that while I was there they turned down family after family because they didn't speak english. One of the head people said that all those spanish people just want to get stuff so they can sell it. So they were rude to these mothers in need who would come to them for help. I am not the only one that they have hurt. They told a woman who was receiving chemo therapy for cancer that she couldn't volunteer because someone said she was stealing they didn't even give her a chance to respond to the accusations.

 

[buddy2bear]

Well, you can do 2 things -- (1) you have to find out how they are funded to find out who is suppose to oversee them and then report what you think they are doing wrong. Call your State Charters Department (or taxes and assessment) and find out who their charter was issued to, ask for their agent of record and address and write them a letter; or (2) call your newspaper, radio station or TV news and report it. Other than that, I am at a loss. Like I said, charties operate differently and get a lot of leeway from the government.