Wednesday, January 12, 2000
St. Vincent DePaul stops special shopping
N.Ky. agency under fire for policy
BY SUSAN VELA and MICHAEL CLARK
The Cincinnati Enquirer
ERLANGER — St. Vincent DePaul Society of Northern Kentucky has halted a new, controversial policy that provided special hours for second-hand dealers and flea market representatives to shop at its warehouse.
The warehouse holds clothing, furniture and other wares donated for the poor.
Too many people were criticizing the weeks-old policy and attacking it for giving shopping privileges to those who don't necessarily need them, said Vincent Bessler, St. Vincent DePaul's district council president, and Charlie Nussbaum, a member of the agency's salvage board.
“It probably wasn't a good idea,” Mr. Nussbaum said. “We're trying to rectify that now. It was tried. It didn't work.”
It certainly didn't, agreed Bud and Roslyn Fryman of Hebron. They visited the St. Vincent DePaul store in Newport this week. They were looking to buy a chair for a relative.
The Frymans have shopped at St. Vincent DePaul stores for years and often donate to the private, nonprofit agency. They think second-hand dealers and flea-market representatives are why all the nice items always seem to have “sold” signs on them. The new policy only seemed to increase that advantage, they said.
The agency “is meant to help out people in need,” Mr. Fryman said.
“Everybody should have an equal go at it,” his wife said.
Mr. Bessler and Mr. Nussbaum said St. Vincent DePaul's new policy began last month with the best of intentions. For about a year, vendors had been “hanging out” at the warehouse for hours at a time to see what was coming in and to get first picks.
Customers complained, so the agency's salvage board, which oversees the warehouse and its four stores, approved the special hours so that each group could shop without aggravation. Customers complained again.
The new policy ended after a four-hour meeting on Monday. Mr. Bessler and Mr. Nussbaum said there's no way they can exclude second-hand dealers and flea-market representatives, but at least they can try to make sure no loitering or lingering takes place.
St. Vincent DePaul stores in Ohio do not have a policy similar to the one tried in Northern Kentucky.
In fact, St. Vincent DePaul might have been the first Greater Cincinnati agency to try such a policy.
None of the three major charitable organizations in Greater Cincinnati — Goodwill, Salvation Army and Volunteers of America — have a policy similar to St. Vincent DePaul's.
There are 13 Goodwill stores, owned and operated by Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries Rehabilitation Center, in Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky.
Spokesman George Palmer said the Tristate's Goodwill stores allow equal access to dealers and the general public. Even in Goodwill-sponsored auctions, held twice weekly, dealers and individuals both have the same bid opportunities.
Salvation Army operates six donation and sales centers with one each located in Newport and Covington, said Salvation Army spokesman Matt Pearce.
“Our first and foremost priority is helping the needy,” said Mr. Pearce. “We do not have anything like their policy,” Mr. Pearce said.
Liz Carter, director of St. Vincent DePaul Society of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, noted the dilemma of charitable groups operating stores aimed to serve poor and lower-income families.
There's no way to exclude second-hand dealers, flea market representatives, college students, antique seekers or anyone else, she said.
“How do you weed those people out?” she asked. “We haven't found a way (and) we simply can't do that. (But some) really are poor and really do need to shop there.”
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