TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The United Way of the Big Bend has appointed two experts to study a Tallahassee based homeless shelter.
The Shelter has been under investigation since a blogger's allegations lead to two employees being fired and the director being placed on administrative leave. As a result, the United Way requested that that the The Shelter submit a full report to them covering topics such as safety, sexual harassment, treatment of the clients, staffing concerns, and moving forward.The United Way is a financial backer of The Shelter.
The new study, announced March 14, would determine the best ways emergency shelters for homeless people should operate. The consultant group will then take that information and make change recommendations to the Board of Directors of The Shelter and to the United Way of the Big Bend.
The selected consultant group includes Dr. James Wright and Dr. Amy Donley from the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Social and Behavioral Science. They have both conducted similar homeless studies throughout Central Florida. They are the authors of Poor and Homeless in the Sunshine State: Down and Out in Theme Park Nation.
The new study will be completed by April 30, 2013.
