Domestic violence shelter leader arrested on battery charge

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Updated 2:09 pm, Tuesday, March 7, 2017


LAS VEGAS (AP) — The director of Nevada's largest shelter for domestic violence victims has been arrested on a domestic battery charge.

Police records show 37-year-old Robert White II was arrested Sunday at his Las Vegas home. Police accuse White of striking his live-in girlfriend multiple times during a confrontation.

White was hired in November as director of programs and education for The Shade Tree, a 24/7 shelter for women, children and pets in North Las Vegas.

Shade Tree executive director Marlene Richter says White is on unpaid leave.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Director-at-domestic-violence-shelter-in-Nevada-10982864.php

[Wellstone ruled]

1. Sure did not last long in that job.

Talk about a Guy who slipped through the Hiring and background process. Wow.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. It is not uncommon for people to find work in a field which supports their issues.

This can be good or bad, depending.

Lots of chemical recovering people end up in the Addiction treatment field, most of the ones I knew were very effective.
People who have family history of mental illness feel called to work in Mental Health.

OTOH, like this guy, untreated people can find a job with potential victims.

like priests....

[Wellstone ruled]

5. So true.

[not fooled]

2. Why, what a surprise

This sure smells like a "privatized", non-governmental shelter with a Board Of Directors, probably lots of fundraising, and big fat salaries for the insiders. Bet they are affiliated with religious orgs, too.

This is what we get when we let public services be turned over to the profit-seeking sector.

[politicat]

3. ... Ministry coalition.

I'm still digging for an annual report, but from their own site:

The Shade Tree was established in 1990 as Jubilee Ministries and, at the time, had little more to offer than safety, shelter, and cots in the basement of Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church. In 1990, diocese members, Junior League of Las Vegas, and the City of Las Vegas collaborated to establish a permanent shelter. In December of that year, The Shade Tree opened in a building owned by Catholic Charities.

Within ten years, The Shade Tree had far outgrown this first building. Programs and services that were truly helping women attain self-reliance were taxing the old building. To address these growing pains, Donald W. Reynolds Foundation made a dream come true with a $5 million dollar capital grant to build a new facility at the corner of Owens and Main Street.

So primarily Christian, with a dash of society ladies who lunch and some city funding (that was probably originally 1990 101st Congress Domestic Violence Prevention Act funding, which provided a block grant of matching funds).

Per Charity Navigator, they're not bad as these things go. 90% to program funding, which is pretty good. $2.7M in revenue, $394K in salaries and compensation (Exec director is $72K, not extravagant, so I expect around 8 employees, averaging around $40K each.)

Which still doesn't excuse a background check failure of this magnitude.

(I will make the small proviso that I had a student, several years back, who was an absolute horror to work with -- multiple sexual harassment violations on his high school record, then in student housing, and finally, when he was my grad student, he finally hit deplorable and got turfed, plus a criminal stalking and assault charge. At the time, I found the judge's sentence of 5 years' probation, plus therapy, plus moving out of his living situation, plus community service with the women's shelter to be unacceptable, but I will also say it worked. After a year of C/DBT and substance abuse therapy, not living with his misogynist family of origin or his frat buddies, and working as a shelter escort, he'd significantly improved and he's now one of the better advocates and a decent human being. But I think he's the exception, and he had a lot of white, affluent, male privilege on his side.)

[Sunlei]

6. good review-thanks for post. Sounds like the charity needs a new director & they'll be ok.

[littlemissmartypants]

7. Don't hate me for being glib.

What were the warning signs?