I’ve spent my entire life trying to make people happy. I’m a proverbial “people pleaser.”
As other people pleasers can testify, it’s never enough. Sooner or later you mess up and let someone down.
That’s what this story is about.
Last week was busy.
We sent a person to rehab. We are moving the Second Chance store to another part of the building. And I got the opportunity to get interviewed by Jennifer Conn from Cleveland.com.
It was a wonderful week. Until I messed it up.
The article Jennifer wrote was amazing! It captured our story perfectly. You can check it out here if you want: Auctioneer starts Akron Homeless Charity to fill gaps in safety net | cleveland.com
It tells where we came from, where we are and also our first benefit concert and silent auction that’s coming up this Wednesday, June 14.
It was a really in-depth interview. She interviewed me at my desk and then took a tour of our entire facility.
At the end of the interview we came back to my desk and she asked me details about our benefit event.
This is where it all went wrong for me.
She asked if we were going to have a food truck. I said yes and that we were really excited.
She asked me if it was going to be Food Truck “A”.
I said yes.
Last week was also difficult.
If you recall, I wrote a piece on the hatred of the homeless. I referenced a woman who I overheard complaining about our facility at a neighborhood meeting.
What I didn’t tell you about was the death threat.
We have a neighbor behind our privacy fence who vehemently despises us.
He came to the Second Chance Store last week, as he and his wife have done before loudly complaining that we are in the neighborhood.
But this time was different.
He told me and several homeless people standing with me that if he EVER saw any of us near his property he was going to shoot us.
I’ve never had a face to face death threat before. It’s a surreal experience. Is he just bluffing? Is he for real?
I feel confident that he is definitely unhinged with anger. So I don’t put it past him.
On top of that I have an ongoing, lingering cold that won’t quit.
I tell you all that just to give you a feeling that I have a lot on my mind.
Additionally, all the bands (11 of them) and silent auction donors are rightfully interested in being promoted.
The first response I got from the article when it came out was why I didn’t mention all the bands in the article.
I should have made that a point. I’m sorry for that too.
But as J- was asking me about the event, we had just come back from our facility tour and I didn’t have my event notes in front of me.
When she asked me if our food truck was Food Truck “A”, I had remembered we had talked about them. So I said yes.
But that was wrong.
All our material. Everything we have ever put out was promoting the actual food truck we had scheduled: Food Truck “B”.
But I told J-: Food Truck “A”. And that’s what got printed.
This embarrassed the owner of Food Truck “A”. She felt that it made her look bad because they already were booked somewhere else.
She, rightfully, wrote me incredibly upset. She wanted to know how this could happen and also wanted to let me know that this significantly damaged her brand. To be clear: she didn’t feel that being part of our event made her look bad. Being mentioned as coming to the event and not being able to due to a conflict of schedule made her look bad.
And then just as quickly, Food Truck “B” posted on our event page that he was not coming because we promoted the wrong food truck.
I was mortified.
When I upset people I feel like a deer standing in the middle of the road staring down a semi truck barreling right for me.
It’s sheer terror.
My muscles pulse with a vibrating electricity. My head swims in fear and shame.
HOW COULD I BE SO STUPID!!
But I was. And now it’s done.
All I have left is to say I’m sorry.
But otherwise, the show will go on.
We have an amazing lineup of bands. And we have an amazing lineup of silent auction items.
Additionally, this is happening right in and around our homeless center. This is a fully operational facility. And you will be enjoying the event with the homeless people that live there.
I’m SO excited for you to meet them. They all are at our place so they can move forward in their lives. They all are actively working on something to take the next step in their lives.
This will probably be the most unique, interesting venue for an event you will experience all year.
If you are a little nervous please don’t be. The people at our facility all are very kind and gentle. Plus, we will have our security team actively working as well.
We ask that this be an alcohol (and drug) free event. Many of the people at our center are actively trying to quit drinking or doing drugs. Seeing super cool people like yourselves drinking might be a pressure they don’t need.
We will have some light snacks and nonalcoholic drinks.
Our event is at:
15 Broad Street
Akron, Ohio
Wednesday, June 14 from 8pm-11pm.
You can make a donation to come if you want. But if you don’t have much money we definitely get it. Just come and hang out with us.
You can learn more about the event here:
Out Of The Shadows Benefit Concert and Silent Auction For Akron’s Homeless Tickets, Wed, Jun 14, 2017 at 8:00 PM | Eventbrite
The Homeless Charity and Village
We look to break down all barriers that separate the houseless and the non-houseless. We are all just people.
Mistakes happen. Please remember self care and stay safe.
You know screws something up almost every day? Everyone damn one of us. You know who’s forthright enough to admit their mistakes and apologize? All too few of us.
No one can seriously doubt that this was an honest mistake. Honestly I can’t see how being associated with a charity event could harm anyone’s reputation. I would also think that a correction can easily be posted on Cleveland.com
Just tell me you reported the threats to the police.
Hang in there, Sagos! I believe when we are working for the greater good, even our mistakes serve their purposes before allnis said and done. Hugs!!
Thank you for you for your kind words. It means a great deal to me.
I am always willing to admit my mistakes. I just hate when they make people so angry and upset. I am at a point in my life where I am just trying to be a force of good. But no matter how hard I try I end up hurting someone along the way. It’s bizarre.
But thank you!
Sage
Your spirit is so bright, Sage. Anyone with a good and understanding heart would not make that big of a deal about any of this. Let the show go on!
I haven’t told the police about the death threat. But that’s a good idea, at least to have it on the record.
The absurd comedy of the death threat encounter was that he told us 3 times never to come near his property. And before he left he then told us to mow the lot we own right next to his house.
How am I supposed to mow while not getting close to his house? It’s a conundrum of physics I’m still pondering.
“No good deed goes unpunished,” as they say. Event promotion and PR is easy and fun (until it’s not.) Hang in there Sage! Keep your eyes on the horizon and chin up! I admire your giving heart and generous spirit!! – Chris Brown
It is absolutely imperative that threats of any kind are reported to the authorities immediately. Even if they don’t seem actionable at the time, having it on record could be vitally important later on.
Sage, we appreciate all that you do in the community. We are not upset in the least that an error was made in regards to the article, after all we are all human, and all make mistakes. I make mistakes all the time. Unfortunately we were already booked prior, as we book up months in advanced. The public apologies are appreciated, however unnecessary as we are all human at the end of the day. Best of luck with your event.
Warmly,
Heather & Square Scullery Staff
Thank you for writing, Jennifer. I truly appreciate your response here. I hope you can forgive me. I can feel your frustration and worry in the messages we’ve been having. But please understand: This is not your fault. I misspoke in public. I know that you weren’t upset about being part of the event. You were upset that you couldn’t be part of the event due to already having an event scheduled. Once again, I’m truly, truly sorry.