Sob story sympathy whore now getting personal

[Mr Hero]

A quick background. A couple weeks I was hit by a car while crossing the street. So for the past few weeks I've been unable to bike to work and instead have asked a friend that lives close to my work and home to pick me up.

Another quick background: We have a guest who's been staying several weeks in the hotel. He has to try and come up with payment day by day. He's been kicked out of two other hotels for this same thing. Basically he'd contact as many possible church organizations in the Denver area until they get tired of him.

And now somehow my friend got involved. Can we say "hell no!"? So after my CW informed me of this, I called my friend to warn him. I don't want any bad blood between us. Especially since his daughter is married to my brother (coming upon 10 years in December!)

I don't this next part to be the focus of the topic, but I get there are some people that are genuinely in need of help. I also know that there are others who take advantage of others' kind natures. I just want my friend to be careful with how he uses his money.

[auntiem]

Is your friend a member of one of these church organizations? I don't see harm in warning your friend that this person is "working" the system.
Are the homeless shelters full in your area? Or does this person have a health condition? I find it odd that these church organizations are helping one person have a hotel room for an extended period of time, in my experience they usually reserve those funds for other reasons - for example if someone has kids in school, a one night hotel room for a single person who has a job interview the next morning - that kind of thing.

Hope you heal quickly!

[Mr Hero]

I thought I mentioned it, but I guess I didn't include it in my final detail, that my friend and I are of the same religion. And since I'm the night guy, I have no idea what the guest is telling these church organizations. What I later found out when I called my friend to warn him about this guy is that the guest went to the local Bishop (leader of the local congregation) and my friend was delegated the task of taking care of the hotel room since he lives right in the neighborhood. He'll be reimbursed of course. What I also know is that the guest is actually trying to get to OR for some reason, so the Bishop agreed to one night's hotel accommodations and a bus ticket for him and his family. Not money. The actual ticket itself.

[bhskittykatt]

We've gotten those SCs as well. The last one, the Bishop who was helping him had enough. SC had pissed him off big time. Have you even heard a Bishop say "F*** you"? He didn't say it...he left a note for the SC informing him that he was cutting SC off. I read the note. While it didn't explicitly say "f*** you" (he's a Bishop, after all), the message was heavily implied. The message was calm and polite, yet the undertone was downright scathing. You just read it and went, "...DAAAYUM!"

[Mr Hero]

Damn, that would be a fine piece of literature right there.

[bhskittykatt]

Yeah. I should have photocopied it. I mean, it wasn't mine to photocopy...but I wish I had.

You know...I haven't seen that Bishop paying for anyone's rooms lately. I wonder if that last SC ruined his faith in humanity. If so, that's just epic. (This Bishop is personal friends with Boss Man, and has helped several guests in the past at our motel.)

[Seshat]

You know...I haven't seen that Bishop paying for anyone's rooms lately. I wonder if that last SC ruined his faith in humanity.

That would be a shame. Mostly because of the whole 'there are people who need the help' thing.

[Mr Hero]

Here's the update I know so far. The next day he had talked to my friend to see if our church would allow for his family a plane ticket since it would be the same rate as the bus so they found out. Then this morning I had heard from CW that the guy had asked to have a car rental instead so that his son wouldn't be without his toys. So many red flags here! He's still in house because another church paid for a couple more nights. The church my friend and I belong to only offered one night and transportation (within reason) to get to OR.

[Shalom]

see if our church would allow for his family a plane ticket

the guy had asked to have a car rental instead

Maybe I'm just a suspicious so and so, but I wonder if he's trying to get something that can be turned into cash. Perhaps he found that the bus ticket wasn't exchangeable, so he asked for a plane ticket... then he found he couldn't redeem that for cash either, so now he wants a rental car.

I would be very leery of this. A ticket only gives you transportation, not some physical object (such as a car) that can be possibly stolen; moreover, the tickets would ensure he's going where he says he will, whereas if you put wheels under him, heaven knows where he'll end up. If they want to go that route, maybe they should just look around the used car lots, find him some old clunker for a few hundred dollars and give it to him outright. At least he'll be some other city's problem then.

[Mr Hero]

That is precisely what I'm concerned about. There are other concerns about rental cars that I can see.

[GiggityGiggityGoo]

Also, whoever is paying for it would be responsible for damages he causes, no?

[Jay 2K Winger]

Not to mention the moocher might not be the safest driver in the world-- and put other people's safety at risk.