Text The Times.
This is concerning the 8th Street mission in west Memphis… If you are homeless and require the help of the mission of 8th Street in West Memphis you can only stay for 3 days or elect to participate in a 7 month program which you must work 5 and a half days a week only receiving a place to sleep and 3 meals a day with no pay of any amount, no help with medication or transportation to any Dr. or hospital or transportation to DHS or workforce to try and improve your life situation.
You work for free and are forced to attend church’s that may not be of your religious beliefs. The public donates items for free to the mission that most end up in the mission store for sale so where does that money go that is generated by the mission store? It doesn’t go to the residents of the mission except possibly paying the utilities everything else is donated for free from the public. As in the days of slavery the plantation owners only provided a shotgun shack and very small amounts of food and nothing more to their workers/ slaves. I challenge the evening times to inject one of their reporters undercover into the mission to get first hand experience as to what I have brought to your attention and please, I request to remain anonymous. This situation truly needs to be brought into the light for there to be a positive change for all who need the help of a mission. Sincerely, Anonymous. [Editor’s Note: Before I get into the contents of this, let me go ahead and say that there’s absolutely no way we’re going to send someone “undercover” to do some sort of exposé on the 8th Street Mission. One, that’s just not what we do. We don’t have the resources or the manpower to do that level of investigative journalism.
We also only have like three guys who cover the news and I’m pretty sure we’d be recognized pretty much immediately. OK, so as you your claims… I don’t know the day-to-day operations at the 8th Street Mission, but I’m not going to lie… if I were somehow ever to find myself alone in this world and completely destitute, the 8th Street Mission is exactly where I’d go. You spin it as “slavery,” but if I’m getting a place to sleep, I’m getting fed and I’m getting help getting back on my feet, and for all that, I’m expected to work and go to church… hey, that IS my payment. I’m glad there is a program like that available. In fact, I can’t imagine NOT doing that if I’m a homeless person. Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure it’s not easy, and I won’t claim to know the effects drugs, alcohol, mental illness or any other calamities that often lead people to being homeless can have on a person firsthand, but I can’t imagine that any expectations that the mission directors might have would make any of that worse]
*** Don’t trust [name withheld] on Marion/West Memphis Swap Shop. They lie about stuff working and then ghost you on Facebook. It’s a rip-off. I guess I’ll have to call the police to get my money back!
SMDH [Editor’s Note: Clearly you can see that I left the name off that you mentioned. And clearly you can understand why. The Evening Times doesn’t need to get in the middle of what could easily end up being some sort of small claims court case or whatever. You say this… they say that…
we’re just going to stay out of it. Now, having said that, it’s always a case of “buyer beware” when it comes to this sort of thing. Remember, in the eyes of the law, this isn’t some binding sales contract, so it gets kind of murky when it comes to who has the rights here. I love a bargain, so it’s hard for me to discourage you from looking for a deal on social media, but like they say, if it sounds too good to be true, it’s probably too good to be true. That’s why I encourage buyers and sellers to take advantage of the very reasonable rates and deals in our Classified section.
Not only is there plenty to see, it’s all in print, so you have “Exhibit A” right there if something goes off the rails]
Here’s what everyone is talking about this week:
