Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Number One

I received an email from Google maps yesterday that TLC had a review from a halfway house client. And when I followed the link, there it was: a rating of one.

I thought "Gee, a one. We must've done something pretty good. Another satisfied customer." I was feeling pretty smug.

But then when I looked at the review I realized that "one" was the worst review.  "Five" was the best. That shows how little attention I pay to comments and reviews.

Wondering what we had done, though, to merit such a rating I read further.

The comment read "this place is all about the money."

Right away I realized the writer had flunked math in grammar school.

Because at TLC a person can live for a week – including food, utilities, and transportation to work - for $110. Plus an addict can get into the program for no upfront money- in other words, on credit.

I'm not sure what this gentleman considers to be money, But $110 week is not much to feed and house anyone.

If you don't believe me try this experiment: find a homeless addict. Put him or her in your spare room or on your sofa. Feed them. Help them find work. Let them use your washer and drier. Listen to them complain about how life has let them down as they're watching your TV. And multiply that by the 750 beds we have at TLC. You'll get an idea of what I'm talking about. See if you can do it for $110 a week.

And an interesting bit of trivia is that our average collection is more like $82.50 a week - about 75% of what we charge.

And out of that huge sum we take in each week we pay $80,000 plus a month in lease payments. $45,000 to $60,000 a month in utilities. Buy fuel and insurance for 40 vehicles. Pay some $15,000 a month for liability.insurance.  And so forth.

I could go on, but I guess we're still stuck with the "one".no matter how much I ramble.

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