If you think being a member at a local entity means you’ll survive winter, think again. They can’t even save their own cadres’ lives when they get terminally ill. They say they need your help to save lives and then tell you about who died because they didn’t have enough x, y or z.
I remember an incident where an up and coming TC was in a transitional phase, quit his job, was living in his van, was all ready to move in and make the leap to VC. He was certainly aware as FOP. But for some reason, the local Arena OPS would not let him advance any further because she didn’t like the fact he had moved into his van.
Well, he did it so he could have more money to give the Organization, DUH!
In any event, he became disillusioned. He had given up everything and the Arena OPS labeled him a loser. His recruitment was deliberately stalled and he was left in limbo. But he no longer had health insurance, he quit his job, and he needed his epilepsy medication.
NO! Now what? He eventually got the message that despite his hustle and bustle, walking the walk and talking the talk, his genuine desire for change, the Arena OPS did not want him because she considered him a loser for moving into his van. Guess he should have kept his job and paying rent on his crummy apartment…
Because of his association with the group and the subsequent slander that the Arena OPS started around town, he could not get another job nor his old job back and he was stuck in a situation of homelessness. He suffered a grand mal seizure one winter night in the back of his van and died.
So who’s to blame? The man? The Arena OPS? What do you think? He died in the winter, a combination of the epilepsy and exposure. He failed to survive and the group could have should have helped. If nothing else, at least rendered services for a man who had been a member in good standing for several years including paying his annual dues of $7.44. Guess that meant shit, as did all the volunteering etc.
