Deanna Vecchiarelli’s Reply (and Epic Fail) to My E-mail (Second Letter)

Deanna’s second letter is an even greater fail than the first.  It reads as follows:

Mr. von Dehn,

Thank you for your email below. I apologize for not taking the time to express sympathy for your situation in my first email.

In my role as Program Coordinator, in collaboration with other City service areas I monitor the community shelters to ensure compliance with the Ottawa Emergency Shelter Standards.  Housing Services has been in touch with management at the Salvation Army to follow-up and express your concerns.

In addition, we have confirmed that you can receive placement services at both the Ottawa Mission and Shepherds of Good Hope.

Please contact me directly if you would like to set up a telephone meeting to further discuss your placement options.

Sincerely,

-Deanna

Deanna Vecchiarelli

Program Coordinator, Community and Family Shelters, Housing Services

Community and Social Services Department

City of Ottawa

100 Constellation Drive, 8th floor East

Ottawa, ON,  K2G 6J8

613-580-2424, ext. 44176

We see a city where everyone has a place to call home.

The irony of the very last line of Deanna’s e-mail inspired Me to change the font to red.  Placing individuals in shelters that Willfully breach their contractual agreements with the city at almost three times the cost ($44/day or $1320/month) of what it would cost the city to place individuals into a dignified housing arrangement, doesn’t really make a lot of sense.  Most individuals could get a pretty reasonable bachelor or one bedroom in the city of Ottawa for between $700. and $800.  It costs the city (and therefor Canadian taxpayers) $1320 a month to stay at an Emergency shelter.

I’m also going to further critique Deanna’s ‘resolution’ skills (or lack thereof).  She apologizes for not expressing sympathy in her first e-mail, but doesn’t take the time to express any sympathy in this letter, either.  Translation: “Sorry I didn’t express sympathy in My last e-mail, though I am not going to express sympathy in this e-mail either.”

It is almost as though her intent is to offend, rather than reconcile.

Then she goes on to state that her role specifically, is to ensure that shelters comply with the Emergency Shelter Standards.  Deanna is openly admitting that the shelter’s failure to act in compliance with Emergency Shelter Standards is her responsibility, which also makes ‘Community and Family Shelters, Housing Services’ liable for any damages resulting from their failure to ensure city shelters operate in accordance with the Shelter Standards.

Housing services has been ‘in touch’ with the management of the Salvation Army to follow up and express My concerns?  And in the meantime, they are just going to continue to provide funding to a shelter they know to be in violation of their contractual agreements with the city of Ottawa, causing ongoing injury and harm to the clients subject to staying there, and upon which their funding is allegedly dependent?  Deanna has a very unique understanding of contractual agreements and what it means when a document states “all organizations wishing to receive funding from the city of Ottawa must act in compliance with the Emergency Shelter Standards.”

Finally, her resolution proposal, is that I be placed in another shelter subject to the same review board, likely breaching many of the same conditions of their contractual agreements with the city of Ottawa, and once again monitored by Deanna Vecchiarelli to ensure compliance, which We now know means nothing at all.

By failing to take any action, Deanna is effectively telling shelter management that there is no obligation to act in compliance with the city of Ottawa’s Emergency Shelter Standards and that the rights and dignity of clients subject to staying there are not worth protecting.

Finally, I was also expelled from the shelter for complaining of the conditions clients are subject to and Jason’s failure to act in compliance with Emergency Shelter Standards.  By offering Me ‘placement’ at one of the other two shelters, Deanna is endorsing Jason Prevost’s decision to have Me removed for exercising My freedom of speech.  Deanna is now endorsing and supporting the suppression of free speech and the intimidation technique used by Jason to prevent others from coming forward.

Like I said, this wasn’t just a fail, it was an EPIC fail.