Signs of Victory: A Shelter in Albany Faces Charges

Update 7-5-13: As I wrote this in May, questions arose about multiple "social service" groups in the Albany area. The latest word, on the street so to speak, is that Tom & Kerry(the suspect management for Signs Of Victory) are no longer in that role at the shelter. The pair is not even at the shelter, according to one homeless I talked to.

Although problems persist, the first step is to not only to remove certain "shelter managers," it is also necessary to change the entire structure of shelter management. In both the Albany shelters, managers are still in place that are stealing from the helpless.

In regards to the young woman with the 15-month-old Nolan, she is supposedly in an apartment with a boyfriend, and is not at Signs Of Victory. That has not been confirmed.

Investigation and photos will continue, read on to get the full story:





The charges are my own, based on witness accounts and investigative journalism. The investigation is ongoing...

After a dozen interviews, it is obvious that Signs Of Victory is not interested in personal victory or redemption.

Shelters, particularly this one, have been accused of being racist and discriminatory. In addition to those social problems, the shelter has been accused of "ripping-off" its clients. From literally stealing cash, to demanding unrealistic payments, the Signs Of Victory Mission has burdened homeless women that have children, and has helped spur neighborhood problems such as drunkenness and excessive trash.

In a previous article, the mission was asked to "help out" in the neighborhood, by creating socially accepted rules and by picking up trash left in that area, specifically by homeless patrons. "Garbage has increased since the new management took over," one neighbor said.

The shelter did nothing.

In an interview with local kids playing along the canal a block from the mission, they told me multiple stories of harassment and pointed out a homeless blanket and trash in a small "camp." The blanket was from Signs Of Victory. Beer cans were in many places along the play area.

During my homeless investigation, I encountered a small number of homeless who had enrolled in the local community college. Some are successful. and one of the first stories I was told, was of a young man who had attended LBCC while living at Helping Hands Shelter for about six months. At this time, that 30-ish man is still a student, but lives in his own apartment.

One student in particular, is a social problem. Living at Signs Of Victory, "Bob" is an LBCC student who has harassed bus drivers, administrators, and students. His reluctance to grasp the nature of school has impacted many other students. The constant badgering of one student, over Bob's lack of understanding the course curriculum, led to a dispute on a city bus. This was the third of similar situations involving this "student" in the last month.

Buck Potter, an LBCC Welding student, who struggled for years with social issues such as housing and drinking, has an apartment with his wife, and is a successful student who is on the path to a welding certificate and full-time employment. Potter is an example of the very idea of community college, which is to create educated, and sustainable economic conditions within a community.

A small percentage, however, are abusing the system. One was scrutinized for purchases in the LBCC Bookstore that were for "pawn" purposes only. And some, fuel their alcoholism with school loans.

During an impromptu interview, one of those once-homeless, now-a-student students told me, "I don't want to graduate." As if the idea is not to? This student has the "easy classes and drunk every day" routine down pat. But in a perfect world, maybe we can help that student focus on an education process that steers away from mediocrity, and towards enhanced communities.

This story started with a male resident of an Albany shelter, complaining of  excessive fees and unsupervised sex offenders. As I delved further in, I noticed a food stamp imbalance in the process, as some residents were forced to give up most of their state award in the name of "rent."

When I asked one staff(Signs of Victory), about two young women that were gone(one with a baby), all he told me was that if "..they paid rent they would have a place to live." He said that one of them was at another shelter. When I asked about the woman and baby, he said, "I think she went to a friend's."

In another interview, racism and discrimination were described as "Not our Christian doctrine, but when a client is out in the public, it is out of our hands." That may be true, but to have no rules as to social conduct, is absurd. The woman in charge, Jane, later called the police. While on the phone, she asked me to leave, and I did. But the reality is that they knew of my efforts regarding homeless, and initially invited me in. The interview was in an office at the shelter and included another staff.

The same Signs Of Victory staff that told me of the "Christian Doctrine" also is the same thief who demanded an LBCC student at the shelter overpay. The staff at the shelter noticed the student's loans, and then took advantage, by "borrowing" a few hundred bucks and demanding "rent" on top of the loan. That student was evicted from the shelter two months later, for "non-payment."

Complaints about manipulated drug tests, theft of government payments, abuse of Oregon Food Stamps, and much more, exists at the Signs Of Victory Mission, with little being done. The secretive and defensive nature of the response from questions, leads me to believe the staff is engaged in the same illegal behavior that they were up to when they themselves were homeless, as all staff were at one time.

I will try and find Albany Transit System records(he harassed a bus driver) regarding the subject of the above interview. His name is Bob(staff may have lied about his name), and he resides at the shelter. In addition to the bus driver, witnesses at LBCC have told me on different occasions that they suspected "Bob" was on meth. Excessive "teeth grinding" in the library and odd behavior while attempting to fix his bike. During the May 18 interview, he left the shelter. Could it be to avoid a drug test?

During my earlier story, stories of theft and other crime at the shelter were numerous. Addiction runs rampant, and many of the addicts at the shelter know how to manipulate drug testing. At one point, another LBCC student who lived there, had an MP3 player stolen.

This is May 18, and this story is just beginning. As I research more, and I look into the meth-addicted shelter personality named "Bob," I will try to address his addiction(they say his teeth grinding and poor attitude is a "medical condition"), as well as his hatred for people that are gay or black or whatever.

In the end, I hope to bury that hatred, and push the shelter to a more progressive approach to social problems.

Feel free to add your opinion and "evidence" to the comments. I am sure I will respond.

My homeless article: http://ronborst.blogspot.com/2013/02/homeless.html

Points of interest:

1) The report of the stolen MP3 player was discussed in the meeting with Signs Of Victory staff, and the addict/resident who stole the item happened to pass through the lobby at around that time. One staff commented, "She'll have to take a urinalysis." The statement seemed forced and I doubt the test ever happened.

2) The "borrowed" money, from a female resident who was later evicted for non-payment, was never repaid by Tom & Kerry, the former managers.

3) An easy half-dozen reports, in the last few months, about "Bob" that are meth and anger related. In each report, the impact on society is substantial.

4) Many of the residents at Helping Hands are state classified Predator Offenders. Some are integrating successfully, while others are unsupervised and violating parole far too often.

5) Theft of government benefits is at epidemic proportions in these two shelters.

A resident from Signs Of Victory.