I began working with Supportive Housing and Innovative Partnerships in early 2009. Since then I have seen many people turn their lives around and become successful members of our community, including several veterans and women with children. Working with this organization has changed the way that I view our community and the individuals that SHIP works with. The most amazing part is watching the individuals that have gone through SHIP's program coming back and volunteering, not only for SHIP but for other organizations in our community. They have created opportunities through Second Chance Building Materials Center to help individuals with barriers to employment. They are community oriented and have helped many other non-profit organizations in Boise with donations of items for auction fundraisers and the creation of a website designed to help link offenders with resources.
This comment is in response to Momma dated 12/3/2010. We are truly sorry that you feel that you had such a negative experience. During the 2009-2010 fiscal year we experienced a $250,000 cut in state funding with very little notice. Prior to that time, we managed 12 safe and sober houses with a total of 120 beds serving persons who desired recovery. This included homeless veterans, persons being released from jail or prison, others experiencing homelessness. Due to these severe cuts we were not able to maintain all 12 houses. We began closing houses as leases expired and unfortunately we were slow in paying expenses during that time. We consulted with our CPA who advised us to pay in the following order: payroll and related taxes and fees, house rents and utilities. We ended up closing down 6 houses with a total of 55 beds and laid-off 5 staff members. Since this time we have further diversified our funding base and have made great strides in paying off all of the back expenses.
I have also checked with our donors and was not able to find anyone who was unhappy with the services we provide. I do recall a person that I did have a conversation with during that time frame regarding a contract between SHIP and another entity. The person was quite upset that I refused to discuss the situation because she was not a party to the contract. The person is not a substance abuse professional, nor was she a large donor as reported in the review.
I am happy to report that the SHIP did not go down as the reviewer had hoped. We have turned around a situation that was beyond our control. We have secured new funding that has allowed us to add 2 new houses, so we are up to 8 houses with 75 beds.
SHIP is a poorly run organization that lacks positive communication with community members, supporters and vendors. The organization has a history of inability/unwillingess to pay their debts and due to the lack of quality leadership puts their tenants at risk. An organization that specializes in stabilizing persons who are used to a chaotic environment should be stable - not add to the chaos. Unfotunately, the "SHIP" is going down, due to the incompetent leadership that values coping an attitude with peers, vendors and supporters rather than engaging in healthy, positive communication.