Greed is defined in the dictionary as an excessive, extreme desire for something, often more than one’s proper share. When is enough enough?

I am reminded of the film about the stock market starring Michael Douglas in which he shouts in one scene that it is all about GREED! Making money and getting rich are the main themes, without any conscience or empathy for others about how you get rich.

One area I have been reading about recently is the greed associated with stealing money from homeless projects, which are supposed to benefit the homeless. I read about the former chief financial officer for Los Angeles developer Shangri-La Industries, who embezzled $40 million dollars, some of which was for state-funded motel conversions to house the homeless. He used the money to selfishly finance his and his former girlfriend’s outlandish lifestyle from swanky homes, private jet travel, a Bentley and Ferrari, a diamond necklace, and Birken handbags. How could someone be so heartless to do this when so many people live on the street under terrible conditions and duress? To be cheated of a way to get off the street and potentially back to a normal life? This money was meant for housing (LA Daily News).

It does not end there. One of San Francisco’s largest non-profit providers of housing for formerly homeless people had as their executive director at one of the facilities, using city funds to enrich herself and staff by paying bonuses and providing lunches and gifts to them. In addition, approximately half of its workforce had active credit cards they used for fraudulent expenses, of which a third had credit limits of $10,000 or higher. Money that was destined to be used for drug programs, mental health services, and 24-hour security was used for personal gain. In one facility, they were not doing their job of filling housing units where as much as 29% of the facility remained vacant. This is while many of the homeless were still on the streets (SF Chronicle).

In Orange, Los Angeles, and Riverside counties, addiction treatment operators collected fraudulent payments from the insurer and encouraged drug use so individuals could stay in the programs to falsely collect more money from these insurance companies (Reported by LA Times, OC Register, and Voice of OC).

In conclusion, in some cases, the homeless are not getting the services they need to stabilize, recover, and integrate back into society. Facilities need to be accountable for their expenditures and not capitalize on the most vulnerable of populations for their own gain.

Note: Not all services for the homeless or any other organization are like this, but a few rotten apples can spoil the bunch. Without more accountability and transparency, most of us feel a lack of trust in our systems and the non-profits that we donate to.

Research before you donate. Here are some resources to help:
• CharityWatch: https://www.charitywatch.org;
• Charity Navigator: https://www.charitynavigator.org;
• GuideStar: https://www.guidestar.org