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THE LEGAL AID COMPLAINTS
+ More About Us & Our Story
by Adrienne G
Guests reporting Harbor Place issues to Legal Aid was simply the matter that ALL people are simply that: people. Homeless & Poverty stricken people are NOT just numbers & statistics for funding purposes - they count as human beings! Everybody in life needs an outlet of hope that ensures accountability on the wrong doings from places of business, or anything that troubles us in our lives...
Due to word of mouth, friendships among guests etc...people who were staying or had stayed at Harbor Place knew to call the local Chittenden County Vermont Legal Aid with their concerns & their numerous mistreatment & mismanagement stories. Needless to say that, of course, people shared their issues with family and friends - and any advocate, social worker, or clinician in their lives as well (this would obviously include the very housing case management workers working on the premises of Harbor Place, five days a week)...
As the time past with Harbor Place in the business of housing financially struggling Vermonters via the Economic Services office on Pearl Street in Burlington, and also through Howard Center and UVM Medical Center by referral & placement: It had become a known fact - among guests, previous guests & a lot of town folk - that this "Legal Aid' thing was something actively going on. It was made clear to me in speaking with so many Guests (past & present) that a lot of people assumed it was some legal action against Harbor Place (like a lawsuit) but it was not. Some people referred to it all as "an investigation" against Property Manager Dan, but of course, this was not the case either.
The Legal Aid Complaints (what I officially call it here on this project) is not ever openly acknowledged by Harbor Place staff or Champlain Housing Trust at all; nor was it known by the media/press, and the facts of it had never been published in any news outlet. On a funny side note of this project: I did, however, share this - among other things - with a Vermont television reporter who at fist was very interested, but was most likely told by the supervising producer that "Harbor Place Stories" was not to be covered...I think I know why too...AND that has to be very interesting in itself! Right? (and another story altogether for later on).
Anyways, in early 2015 when I finally did meet with Legal Aid myself to discuss my issues & concerns and try to get much needed legal "help" for me and my Son on several issues -- I informed them of my passions...that I was an Artist, Humanitarian..and a Writer/Blogger and that I would make it all known to the public as a Human Interest project... I don't think they believed me or had any faith in me or my hobbies, skills or capabilities...(after all, I was in trouble and living at Harbor Place so who am I?).....well, I will leave this here and refrain from further comments on what they thought about me...Who cares.
**(Our Legal Aid Story is that we don't end up getting much, or any help from them but needed it, the details of this will develop later as Our Story continues within this project)...
So, back to the Legal Aid Complaints - as a direct source had informed me and from what I know myself having lived at Harbor Place for approximately 8 months by the time this news was fully shared with me in February 2015, these are the facts:
THE LEGAL AID COMPLAINT STORY
(from first-hand knowledge and eye-witnessed accounts, as noted above)
The *Legal Aid Complaints* begin soon after Harbor Place opens in Fall 2013. They begin to get calls regarding mistreatment & wrong-doings by the staff routinely against Guests involving issues about the overall business practice -- including sexual harassment. I know that some good people, advocates truly doing their jobs and concerned with what they were hearing, did the right thing and helped out by actually providing support to guests who started to voice their stories of complaint...
It has always been my continued concern to this day as to why/how would no other VT advocate, social worker (including State employees of Economic Services) who heard the stories over and over on a daily basis, month after month (well into March of 2015!) listening to people complain & protest being sent to Harbor Place...why/how did nothing happen, nothing was stopped and this all was - and is still - allowed to continue for so long and now over 2 whole yrs ??? Truly unbelievable.
I was disgusted by the entire matter, among other things, but it was a small relief to have learned that some previous Case Workers of the *complaint period* (spanning its opening until the Spring of 2014+) that were involved with Harbor Place clients, such as some workers from COTS, had played a role in HELPING people by confirming & assisting Guests with their Legal Aid Complaints. I also had learned that as all the months develop into Spring 2014, and beyond, Legal Aid was getting about 2 to 3 phone calls of complaints & concerns from Guests per week since Harbor Place opened its doors!
The numerous complaint calls about Harbor Place that came into Legal Aid were handled by a team of Attorney & Paralegal who took in the continued reports as they came in... Months later in the Fall of 2014, the complaints officially culminated to about 5 or 6 Guests (all former or some still at Harbor Place is not clear to me) who agree to speak out in person about their issues and share the details of what happened to them to the Attorney of Champlain Housing Trust.
The informal hearing-style meetings were held at the CHT offices in Burlington. The questioning of these brave complainants, the Harbor Place Guests, last for two whole days. It is important to note that no CHT upper management, no Harbor Place staff - nor the CEO or CFO of Champlain Housing Trust was involved with, or present, at these hearings !! Unbelievable.
Even more unbelievable and very important to note, is that Champlain Housing Trust CEO Brenda Torpey nor the CFO Michael Monte, never even spoke to anyone from Legal Aid at all throughout the entire matter !! I was told by the direct source of Legal Aid: "they refused to talk to us". The CHT attorney handled all the communications with Legal Aid.
Then in late Fall of 2014, now over one month later or so after the "hearing complaint interviews", a formal reply in form of a two-page letter was finally sent into Legal Aid by the CHT Attorney. Unbelievably again, it denied any unlawful wrong-doing & discredits some (or all?) of the Guests who were involved...and that was it, End of story on that. The source told me: "it was so disappointing...and we were never saying they did anything unlawful"... Clearly, this was a complaint effort for acknowledgment of the major problems by CHT; then some CHANGE (as any business would address), and maybe some apologies. Right? But how can anyone address change or apologize if they first will not acknowledge the truth, no matter how ugly...???
...Interesting is that indeed, there are some "changes" at Harbor Place in the aftermath of the Legal Aid Complaint of Fall 2014 and then, additionally, my own valid & serious concerns voiced to CHT upper management in person (that very Fall Season in December)...changes that do not address anything in favor of the Guests concerns. In fact, quite the opposite...somehow...!! Unbelievable.
**(more on this too, later in our Series)
**(more on this too, later in our Series)
...note: this 2017 dual Blog Post is also a Site Page for now...
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