My reply is rather lengthy. It is here at CyberWhaleWarrior.com, my site. While I was not one of the men evicted, I did stay there and heard the continual threats to be booted if one person screwed up. Please see my post at

Dear God Voter....

I've given you the benefit of the doubt here because sometimes you make decent posts but the one in here is just terrible. I've met and talked to Mr. Farrell several times and I always found him to be a caring person who a passion for helping people. You have no base to call him a drunk. You are pathetic and a sad person.

Apparently, the problem in Rome, GA is not just the Salvation Army’s treatment of the homeless. The problem is that there is a selective comprehension of issues at the local level. You certainly have a right to your opinion but not to your own set of facts. If you really want to hear both sides, then read the related posts on Rome N-T Facebook wall https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10150466693903631&id=6160303630 AND the writings of Holise Cleveland whose blogging is very revealing. You don’t need to agree with me, but you should have enough integrity to hear both sides and stop blaming the victims. Please stop the exaggerations: the homeless were not about to burn the place down, they are not in charge of the Salvation Prison; we are not talking about birth control and abortions; you need to stop the hate speech. The Salvation Army should stop taking buckets of money while they are throwing men out on the street at 6:30 AM daily and sometimes at 8 PM for 6 months at a time.

Capt. Tim Farrell is one of the best and most dedicated men I know, and I do know him, so I don't have to rely on baseless speculation and cowardly slander. Taking this action would have been an absolute last resort on his part. As a Salvation Army donor, I appreciate his action in preserving their facility for those who both need it and are not engaged in destroying it.

Some of you inventive cowards who know nothing about a situation should just keep your ignorance to yourselves.

I am not surprised at the outrage expressed here against the homeless who may have issues with drugs, alcohol and other social ills. Yes, some of them have issues and attitudes that other people shy away from; it might be fear, it might be indignation and it might be human nature at its worst. I am surprised that it is coming from people who may be close to being homeless themselves; certainly doesn't seem to be coming from the top 1%.

The Salvation Army is a charity but is it charitable and compassionate? It exists “to meet human needs”, but which humans and which needs? Obviously it is not for the self righteous, indignant, pompous people complaining about the homeless who may very well be malnourished and starving, and unknowingly dare to look at someone eating with a longing stare.

The Salvation Army has a self proclaimed mandate to help the homeless. If it can’t manage the homeless then it should stop pretending to be their champion or their “Salvation”. It should stop taking money on a pretense and let other organizations take care of the homeless.

PhilMaco – yes you do sound mean and pompous, and you offer no solutions; you just spit venom. I have heard similar statements before; they amount to “blame the victim”. I am not fooled by the homeless and their issues. The point is that either The Salvation Army collects money and helps those in need or they stop pretending, stop collecting and get out of the way. There is no room in this endeavor for petty tyrants and vindictive actions against the must vulnerable in our society.

I am baffled by the people leaving comments against the Salvation Army. What was this man supposed to do, let them tear down the building? It is ridiculous to think that just because they are homeless they have no repercussions when they do wrong! And surely if I were homeless I would have had the forethought to have spoken up and "snitched" rather than lose a roof over my head! I applaud this man's actions, and the message he sent to others that may want to go in there and act a fool! Being homeless does not give these men the right to act in such a selfish manner!

the salvation army is supose to be a christian organizision what happen to forgivenest? when it comes to money them values are out the window. no more donation from me.

Exactly.... "astounding force"

Unacceptable and dangerous behavior. Take the time and get to the bottom of it before punishing everyone. This is stupendous behavior on the part of the administration. Hardly any of the money donated to those bell ringing stations outside stores actually goes to benefit those in need. SHAME SHAME SHAME. I am sick to death of hearing things like this about our local Salvation Army. I know for a fact that there are several other locations in other cities where I have lived in the past that are run very well. Sadly this is not even on the top 5 list of bad stories I know of regarding our local branch. There are several other organizations in Rome that provide services to those in need that are honest and trustworthy. I urge you to spread this story to all you know. Band together and send a message that this will not be allowed anymore. Did someone cross the line and mess up??? YES and whomever that vandal was will be dealt with one day. But I am SICK SICK SICK to death of hearing about trusted and recognized names of organizations who provide services to those in need getting all the funds from trusting donors and screwing over those they are supposed to be serving. Tell everyone you know in Rome. Our local Salvation Army is not a good organization. They are NOT TO BE TRUSTED AGAIN!

I wonder if it was the same person who leaves all the Kroger shopping carts scattered up and down East 1st Avenue. Or maybe it's the guy who's always peeing in the bushes next to the workout gym... This will be nice if it was--won't have to put up with that for 6 months!

First of all pattersonalan95,I would not have lost my place to stay because of someone else and their stupidity. I would not want t be a snitch,but hey ,I would if it meant me being cold. I agree with this mans actions,he should not have to babysit grown men. They should have to come back and work off the cost of their destruction. And secondly, I seriously doubt this man came in and cut jobs and pay without some sort of explanation,some people over exagerate their stories on here. Just saying.

Just because someone is homeless doesn't make them any less responsible for their behavior. This man made the right decision.

I was one of those asked to leave so i have a view some may not.This i do know,some come into the shelter to change policy.Some did not want to follow the rules after being warned several times.I lost my place to stay because some guys did stupid things and threw everyone else under the bus.Some just did not want to quit drinkig,using drugs or selling drugs,and they wanted control so they could do so.Get upset with those who said(i hate Christians) while at the same time living in there shelter,getting cloths,and eatng there food.

*surprise

@mysteriously - I won't argue that they should have been given an explanation, but demotions come at no suprise. Especially considering the Goodwill that just opened in town. I feel he made the right choice here, you can't bite the hand that feeds you. Someone knew who was to blame but didn't speak up.

Just last week, Farrell demoted 2 longterm (25 plus years)employee's of the thrift store and cut the pay of one of them with NO explanation!!! Now, kicking the homeless out???? I hope he sleeps well at night!