Lots More Random Thoughts

Today we had an all staff meeting. It was interesting to meet all the people, listen to the differing opinions, and see how diverse their backgrounds were. The director of La Puente (Lance), asked us a question whether we thought La Puente did too little or too much, in other words should they expand their services or not.

The opinions were spread from one extreme to the other. What the question made me think about was the limited funds, and that in the non-profit world the same as business one must protect your core business, make sure it is “profitable” and self sustaining before spreading your capital beyond. Unlike business, it is pretty difficult to take out loans to expand your business without being assured of some source of income, either in grant money or in federal funding. It strikes me that in business, a failure in expansion may just cause that expansion to fail, where the risk in the non-profit is it can bring the whole thing down. The social cost to losing a place like La Puente is enormous. So while our social needs continue to grow, non-profits have to be careful not to grow too rapidly so that they can maintain at least a core set of services.

The La Puente model of funding is fascinating to me also. It runs a coffee shop, two thrift stores, a boutique (with antiques), and a motel. These don’t fund the organization completely, but they certainly contribute a good sum of operating capital. I feel like there is something to learn within this model, though I don’t know if it would work in a larger city. The beauty is that they can use these businesses for job preparedness and training for their clients. Pretty amazing stuff.

Then I start asking myself “what can I learn here that I can take forward?” It is way too early for that question to be asked, and perhaps I shouldn’t ask it at all and have faith that for whatever purpose my path has led me here will be revealed. I do know that I already have a much different opinion about homelessness and the complexity of the issue. Is it personal choice, social pressures, or our culture that causes it? Good luck on finding a consistent answer on that. I also know that the general public tends not to have a real picture, as I believe organizations reveal what they need to in order to get money, but never really engage the public in controversial discussion. I believe this is what has to happen in order for our country to help not just the homeless but anyone else in need.