Professors Begin Study of Shelter Policies

This an excerpt from a story Gannett, read the entire piece here.

United Way of the Big Bend President Heather Mitchell on Monday introduced two experts she said are helping The Shelter move in the right direction. 

UWBB and The Shelter’s board leadership have called in the experts to conduct an internal review of The Shelter’s practices. The move follows a month-long police investigation into allegations of misconduct among employees and the recent restructuring of The Shelter’s leadership. The Shelter’s board on March 28 announced the retirement of director Mel Eby.

While the police investigation resulted in no criminal charges, the UWBB, a key funder of The Shelter, found “deep concern” with parts of TPD’s report, and mandated a review of the facility and its operations.

Mitchell said a private local donor, who asked to remain anonymous, donated approximately $9,000 to fund the month-long internal review.

The consultants are James Wright and Amy Donley, professors in the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Social and Behavioral Sciences. Both spent the past weekend conducting a series of interviews and gathering data on the current functions and operations of The Shelter.

This an excerpt from a story Gannett, read the entire piece here.