If the saying “A picture’s worth a thousand words” is to be taken at face value, the Facebook page dedicated to Friends of PHS Community Services can only be described as priceless.
Hundreds of employees and supporters have gathered on the social network to share thoughts and photos of the work they do as part of the embattled organization. Some photos on the Facebook page show smiling staff members, and a Boston terrier, wearing T-shirts in support of Insite, North America’s first legal supervised injection site.
The page also includes several memes created in honour of the society, including one showing a group of grim-looking men in black carrying a coffin with the words: “This is not a luxury. Support the Portland Hotel Society.” A second meme includes a photo of a needle-exchange van with the words “Support the Portland Hotel Society. This ain’t no limo” emblazoned across it.
The limo reference is in response to a recent internal audit by Vancouver Coastal Health accusing the PHS board of directors of misspending, including more than $12,000 in limousine services.
As reported in the Courier last week, the report was released a day after co-founder Mark Townsend announced his resignation, along with his wife and co-executive director Liz Evans, policy director Dan Small and human resources director Kerstin Steurzbecher. VCH chief medical health officer Dr. Patty Daly, B.C. Housing vice-president Craig Crawford and six others will replace the nine-member board, chaired by Jack Bibby.
The report also noted that between 2009-2010 and 2011-2012 fiscal years, the board spent $69,000 in restaurants and $8,395 on spa services. Townsend, Evans, Small and Steurzbecher also spent $300,000 on flight, hotel and conference expenses.
But despite the financial boondoggle the outgoing board is facing, PHS employees, clients and supporters have came out in droves online to support the organization. Between its creation Monday and Thursday morning, the Friends of the PHS Facebook page attracted 777 members.
PHS employee Patrick Smith told the Courier in an email, the reason so many front-line workers are publicly supporting Townsend and Evans is the culture of “love, kindness and compassion” they created.
“But now, I work in a culture of fear — fear for the residents, fear of losing our programs, and fear of losing our employment,” Smith wrote. “I sincerely hope our new board and EDS can reconcile with the employees. But I cannot sit idly by and watch very kind and decent people like Mark, Liz, Kerstin and Dan be vilified in the media.”
Smith argued many of the accusations about expenses have been taken out of context. He noted one example is a psychologist who worked with a group of Downtown Eastside residents who had lost custody of their children to the Ministry of Children and Family Development. He noted the psychologist donated 20 sessions with the families in an effort to help them get their children home. As reward for her kindness, the PHS gave the therapist a gift certificate for $150 for a spa.
Smith added on Wednesday he went to visit a woman in the hospital who had just been told she has three months to live.
“As I was leaving her room, she said, ‘Tell Mark I have his back,’” Smith wrote.
