To: Lorrin Freeman, Wake County District Attorney
Re: Investigation Request of the South Wilmington Center for Men
Attachments: Supporting Statistics.
Greetings:
This letter is to request a formal investigation/inquiry of allegations of abuse of residents that utilize the South Wilmington Street Center for Men. This is also a request to investigate practices that are endangering homeless persons and workers thereat. Lastly, this is an inquiry as to the relationship between Human Resources of Wake County and your offices.
To begin, in the past, center employees were noted for the exploitation and preying upon the homeless persons that use the center. The center is used by persons whom encountered hard times due to sudden homelessness. In the process of reestablishing themselves, the men apply for various benefits like Veterans Benefits, Food Stamps, Unemployment, United States Social Security Administration Disability and Retirement benefits, and a whole host of other monetary programs for relief in their quest for stability. It is a fact the men suffer from addictions at times and mental illness. Over the past three years, there were reports of Guest Human Services Technicians taking money from residents. One name that kept coming up was Candice Brown, a human services technician that is part of upper management thereat. Allegedly, concerns reached the human resources department to the extent they conducted internal investigations. As a result, there were a couple of terminations of employees. Reportedly, irregularities continue. The question here is was the Wake County District Attorney’s Office ever contacted as a result of allegations of predatory practices and fraud and obtaining property under false pretenses by the Wake County Human Services employees, etc.. In the myriad of internal investigations, does Wake County’s Human Resources ever collaborate or reach out to the district attorney’s office to consider charges in such matters. The allegations at the center include that of verbal abuse of homeless persons and other disreputable practices. While Wake County HR has an internal process, the question is because of the nature of the allegations and the fact this population, the men, are vulnerable, does Wake County Human Services ever collaborate or consult with the district attorney’s office to perhaps press charges. For example, allegations include the use of beds as a tool to get payment/funds by workers. Another example includes allegations of falsified times sheets that includes a new added measure at the center to include clock-ins for work. To be plain, if human resources saw the need to have “clock-in” devices because of a rampant problem, was anyone ever charged or referred to the district attorney’s office for prosecution for things like fraud.
The measurement of a good work week should not be “how many people died from overdoses” at the center. The is a clash between statutory law, city and state law in North Carolina, and center policy. One clash is the edict that no illegal drugs use and sales transpire on government property. Here, the Wake County Housing Department due to lax oversight is allowing drug use and sales at the center. Resultant deaths at the center from drug use is high, even if one person died from such, that would be alarming, but here the reports are of multiple deaths on the property due to illegal drug use and sales at the center. “Low Barrier” is the catch phrase used to justify such. Did the Wake County District Attorney’s office ever conduct an investigation into illegal drug sales and use on the center property? How many drug arrests were effectuated at the center and are the entry standards to low thereby encouraging those activities. There does not exist a statute of limitations on negligent homicide. Did the DA’s ever look into the rise in deaths at the center from overdoses and sales on government property? The notes and reports are there; however, at one point the administration was encouraging line staff not to record and report incidents [was the DA’s office in receipt or ever contacted].
The communication of a threat against a government employee is a criminal offense in this state. This is in addition to the right to protect oneself from harm and the right to not just have life threatening conditions bestowed upon you through negligence. On one occasion an employee had to fight the administration at the center because that employee sought and obtained an arrest warrant against a homeless person. At the center, through policies followed by the center director Frank Lawrence, disrepute of the honor of being a government employee occurred by allowing the homeless to threaten staff and other homeless persons. Additionally, a family center began operations within feet of the center’s sexual offenders. It was reported to Wake County Human services that employees were by placed at risk of harm and injury through the negligence of persons like Frank Lawrence, whom when housing and providing employment to his friends and/or friends of friends, placed center staff and homeless persons at risk for injury through preferential treatment (criminal negligence). In addition thereby causing a hostile workplace wherein persons left county employee due to the added additional risk emanating from negligence. For example, a homeless person enters the center, becomes agitated, and then states he will go out of the center to get his gun to settle the matter, thereby communicating a threat against center staff, but nothing was do in response to that communication to preserve safety. Whereas, in the past, a homeless person would be barred from the center for at least 30 days citing the communication of a threat and law enforcement would be immediately notified.
Upper administrations failure to safeguard other homeless persons is also at issue through negligence. Remembering this, all homeless persons sleep together in the dorms. No screenings are occurring upon entry to the center or within 72 hours to ensure persons are not able to enter with communicable and life threatening diseases. The end result is COVID outbreaks in the center (among many and other diseases and conditions) and during such time there was no overwhelming presence of medical personnel to deal with COVID and other outbreaks. I am not sure these issues aforementioned where discussed with the district attorney. Human resources of Wake County did receive complaints especially with regards to worker and homeless persons safety. Did the DA’s office ever receive information on these concerns and/or work with the county to ensure the center is a safe, drug free, and illness free environment?
The issues are low barrier, fraud, negligence, and other detrimental issues brought to the attention of the Wake County Housing Department and the Wake County Human Resources department, but, it presents the issues were never collaborated with the Wake County District Attorney’s office. Wake County Human Services is not a law enforcement body, and, needs to consult and rely on “the experts” to make sure no further lives are being lost. Hence, a request is being made for the district attorney’s office to investigate, independently, conditions at the center, to determine the merits of any allegation of fraud, abuse, negligence, and death, etc.. Please work with Human Resources and look at the data to see if these issues are true. Thank you.
Please visit ministry websites like https://www.carolinajesus.com/ and more importantly https://www.wakecountyfails.com/ and https://www.reyoadvocacy.com/ .
Respectfully submitted,
