It’s hard to believe all the services Shade Tree offers to the ladies. When I think of shelter, I imagine cots lined up on the floor and people sitting around just to get off of the sidewalk. I volunteered for about a month for school and I have learned that this place is so much more. Shade Tree is not just a shelter. It is a place to get what you need to start again. They have a variety of services available. When you are hungry, you are fed. And not just soup and sandwiches. You can have cereal and milk for breakfast or oatmeal and coffee. I was there during lunch time and saw once they served pizza and another time they had turkey. If you want to take classes to learn about finances they have a bank come in to teach it, if you want to exercise they have yoga (Yoga at a homeless shelter is amazing!), you want to learn computers, they have a class for that. If you want to get a job, they have a program to help you do that, too. It seems as if anything you might need to help you get back on your feet, Shade Tree has is for you. In regards to one of the other comments, while I volunteered there I did see one altercation between some of the ladies there and I think the staff handled it well (I couldn’t do there job) but I would think that when you get that many people living in the same place together stuff like that is bound to happen once in a while.
I was so excited to start working here I truly thought I would be able to help these woman and children in a very positive way in a bad time of their lives. On the tour I was shown a computer lab a doctors clinic and a children's center also a basement area filled with brand new clothing as Donations for these woman. The reality is I received no training the doctors clinic was never open as there is no doctor or nurse employed there and I never saw the children's center open and there are no toys, color books for the children on the housing floors. There is a form the woman can fill out for clothing the employee goes to the basement if they feel like it and picks a few used clothing items close to their size and that is what the clients recieved. I saw the same food being served everyday. I watched a girl that works there she has been there a whole 2 months no background in social work and I'm sure has never had a hard day in her life she does not relate to these woman at all!! Her name is Rosalyn she walks around with a superior attitude barking orders and actually raising her voice yelling at these woman! A client staying there dropped her mask on the bathroom floor she tried to explain to Rosalyn she didn't want to put it back on her face after dropping on the filthy bathroom floor she was on her way back to her dorm to a new mask Rosalyn and another woman Jami stopped her got into a verbal alteration with her threatened to put her out when the client tried to explain they walked the client downstairs then went and put her things in a garbage bag and physically threw it outside the gate "86" her from ever coming back. ROSALYN is a young girl on a power trip!! I recieved no training at all Rosalyn would yell at me call the supervisor who was not there on-site to tell on me I had no idea what I was allowed and not allowed to do as there was NO TRAINING!! There are absolutely no social workers on site they do not help these women nor guide them in anyway into changing their lives most all donations don't ever go to these woman. It is absolutely up to these unqualified girls that work there whether you are get a bed or not. I watched Janice another employee turn away a very pregnant woman due in 5 weeks away because she didn't feel like doing the paper work. Upper management never ever mingles with the woman staying there and the so called advocates they hire have no formal training. This job was so misrepresented I really wanted to help the community instead I left in tears everyday after witnessing the abuse and the mental abuse these woman go through. They are there due to domestic violence and now they have a 20 something year old girl barking orders and yelling at them and they know they can't say a word or she will throw them out in the street they have seen her do it. I have now quit my job there I absolutely refuse to treat human beings already down on their luck like garbage for a paycheck!! I am reaching out to authorities to see if anyone cares and can look into The Shade Tree.
Employee of the shade tree they work you like a slave you are seen but not to be heard corporate workers all have a power adatud they never interact with the clients I have seen a lot of big payments from donation but it's not spent on the clients and the staff is not payed well employees dateing each other the one over security he lays every young lady that gets on payroll but they have you taking sexual harassment classes you talking about about the shade tree being messed up well it sure is I'm in the inside trying to get the hell out if it was not for helping the lady's that come through that breakes my heart how corporate don't give a dam about them they talk a good talk but it's all about the money and it is going in there pocket.