(editors note, this story is evolving as people send me tips and details, if you read it when it first came out- it’s got more. I’m getting more info almost hourly on this- including that the Dayton Daily sent a reporter out the day after this was originally published to “break the story.” I’ve had to add a few corrections in, and the comments are filling in other holes.)14:05 13 Sept 24
The Huber Heights location for the new YWCA was going to be a big deal. They got a $500K grant from the State (you and me, the taxpayers). They went out and bought all kinds of new stuff- furniture, tools, food, tv’s, computers, a piano, pool table, foos ball table, kids books and games, even feminine hygiene products. Most of it never used- lots still in boxes.
Then their director, skipped town to Columbus, they shut it down and now are clearing out the stuff they wasted all that money on, and no one seems to be the wiser.
From the paper that never credits my blog, from Jun 23, 2022:
YWCA Dayton is set to receive $500,000 from the recently approved state capital budget to go toward renovation of the organization’s Huber Heights branch.
YWCA acquired the Huber Heights location last year with the intent to use the space to grow into the future, create a sustainable business model and get the community involved, Shannon Isom, YWCA president and CEO, said at the time. The campus at 7650 Timbercrest Drive (along Taylorsville Road, west of Troy Pike) formerly served as the Montgomery County Development Center, which closed in 2018.
The property consists of 11 buildings on 19.4 acres and includes seven residential units, a 20,000-square-foot administration building with community meeting space and a green space with a gazebo, picnic shelter and trail.
The location is perfect for carrying out the organization’s mission to empower women, eliminate racism and promote peace, justice and equality for all within the greater Dayton area, said Audrey Starr, vice president of missions, brands and programs. However, there are some upgrades that are needed in various places throughout the 19-acre campus, which was originally built in the early 1980s.
“With this property, it’s not derelict or in disrepair, it’s just a little dated,” Starr said. “It’s still completely usable and we’re able to function in 90% of the campus, it’s just got some things like dated aesthetics pieces and roofs that need redone, along with things that are functioning now, but may be coming to the end of life, so we want to do some proactive and preventative (maintenance).”
The entire renovation is estimated to cost $10.2 million, Starr said, and YWCA has started a capital campaign to fundraise the additional money needed.
“To date, we have raised $1.2 million,” Starr said, adding that there’s not necessarily a time frame or an end date around the renovation. “The faster we get that support and raise those dollars, the faster we can get the whole campus up and running,” she said. “Certainly, any little bit helps.”
Right now the YWCA is trying to stay afloat under the temporary leadership guidance of Pat McDonald as Chief Operating officer, past president of Key Bank. She’s done stints at the Boonshoft and DPAA as interim CEO.
They appointed Tera Fox Williams CEO back in June of 2023. Readers of this blog may remember Ms. Williams questioning the no-bid contract awarded to The Wilderness Agency for $200K- as directed by County Commissioner Debbie Lieberman’s assistant John Theobald. Theobald is now the co-founder and owner of the same agency- but that’s another story. He’s also trying to avoid his “co-founder” Richard J. Kaiser, who’s threatened to kill him. As I said, another story.
The YWCA originally asked the County to be the conduit to receive the property from the State. The County said no, so Helen Jones-Kelley and ADAMHS (Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services)accepted it from the state for nothing. The YWCA was supposed to take care of it and maintain it. They walked away in the middle of the night, and left the building to be broken into, with copper plumbing looted, and tens of thousands of dollars of food to rot. More on Jones-Kelley in the update at the bottom.
Shannon Isom, the former CEO, left town for Columbus where she’s now the president and CEO of Columbus’ Community Shelter Board. She’s headlining sold out MLK breakfasts and considered a visionary.
But, when you look at her work history: “served as a board member for Dayton Downtown Partnership, Co-Op Dayton, Community Appeals Board for the City of Dayton and Miami Valley Regional Planning Committee; and as co-chair of the Racism is a Public Health Crisis task force.” None of it is ever her being in charge of her own money. So it’s easy to walk, hop, skip, away from her failings.
This project had the support of the Dayton Development Coalition, the County- and many others. A high ranking local public official asked why Isom isn’t in prison, but of course it was off the record.
There are a lot of people who don’t want you to see or know how some of our efforts at subcontracting social services to “non-profits” is going. Just like there are folks who can’t admit that our “For profit health care system” in the United States is a complete and utter failure from an outcome perspective.
Why aren’t non-profit “leaders” held accountable for their failures?
And why do I have to do the job of the local press? Where you’ll never see my name credited with breaking the story.
No song today, I need to work, so I can pay my taxes, so they can be wasted by our government.
UPDATE
6:15 PM- This whole hot mess is being covered up by Helen Jones-Kelley, head of Montgomery County ADAMHS – the people who’ve screwed up more stuff in the last 2 years than I have time to write about. The new mattresses, bunk beds, furniture, and everything else- are sitting in squalor.
The “Girls Lead” program was abruptly shut down in July. Records of people in the program are still there- with some confidential info. Other organizations are being courted- to possibly turn the facility into a rehab center. Somehow- how all this is happening without public oversight is criminal.
As to Jones-Kelley, she should never have been employed in a position of public power after the Joe The Plumber incident (see the link on her name to Wikipedia). That her and her husband, Tom, former County Assistant Administrator- who went on to be the assistant director of the Family and Children First Council, and now is the CEO of the United Way, is why I’ve called it the “Monarchy of Montgomery County” for over a decade. The inbreeding and relationships of people in power makes the Habsburgs look like the little league.
update: 13 Sep 2024, 1:30 pm the Dayton Daily News now has a reporter poking around the Huber facility. A call to the Dayton Daily News editor, Ashley Bethard, claims they’ve been working on this story since February- and won’t credit this blog. Coincidence- or just ignorance of journalistic integrity?
Good questions, David.
I usually wouldn’t say anything, but I will say, you’re on the right track. Keep digging.
Terra Williams has been CEO for over a year. She is the CEO that closed the Huber campus and abandoned all of those items. Since Terra has taken over all of the tenured leadership staff have left.
So many questions. So many ‘not’ answers. What a travesty! Some people are constantly placed on ivory towers. Elevated. Worshipped. And idolized. The rest of us struggle with life’s normal challenges. Make the donuts. Go to bed. Pay huge taxes. Rinse. Repeat.
There is a lot more going on than this. The Rape Crisis Center, the only accredited one in Montgomery and Preble Counties, is no longer offering any services because the program was cut by the current CEO, Terra Williams.
You need to get your facts straight about Ms. Isom. She worked diligently in trying to accomplish the goals of the YWCA. Her heart, body , and soul was into trying to make things better at the YW and the greater Dayton area. Your article is built on assumptions and places Ms. Isom in a negative light that is undeserving. For me this is no surprise. It is certainly sad that you felt the need to write this article to bring down what was a total asset to our community. You are clueless! This is another ploy by a white so called journalist going out of their way to bring down a black person. This is nothing new!
A rape crisis center that is fully funded. Right questions, wrong CEO…
@Clarence – take your racist BS somewhere else.
I’m an equal opportunity journalist- and this was Shannon’s brainchild- that when the going got rough she left.
As to Ms. Terra Williams- some of you may want to revisit this post, https://esrati.com/when-the-wrong-answer-and-no-response-spells-corruption-and-coverup/17682
Where Ms. Williams allowed Public Health to have a no bid contract steered by Commissioner Lieberman’s assistant, John Theobald, to his own ad agency.
Right now, the main person who should be under the microscope is Helen Jones-Kelley, but Ms. Isom sure has some ‘splainin to do since she shepherded this money into this project and then split town before it all imploded.
@Matt (you can’t just change your name to: “In The Trenches” on this site) “ADAMHS was merely a pass-through from the State to the Y and is now stuck with it”
well, then, what did they do to secure the building? What’s the plan for dealing with the shopping spree the Y went on with our tax dollars?
Someone has to take responsibility and control- and be held accountable.
Hi David, you say that you are an equal opportunist and have published criticism of Terra Williams in the past, which is fair enough. But that does not address the blatant lack of basic fact checking that caused you to state that the YWCA is still under the leadership of interim CEO Pat Buchanan. A quick 5-second google search shows that Terra Williams has been the CEO since June 2023.
You bemoan the fact that DDN does not credit you or take you seriously — could this be why? The fact that you were incorrect on such a basic detail calls into question everything else that you have to say.
This is not to defend Shanon Isom or anyone else involved, but this level of lazy, sloppy journalism is embarrassing, and should cause you to reexamine your approach.
@Details Matter- sources told me that Pat is the person behind the curtain trying to straighten this out. But, you might want to remember- I have a full time job- this is a side gig.
Easy to criticize- harder to do. You know how much time I spent on that No-bid Wilderness contract to public health story? Easily over 60 hours. There were 2500 pages of dreck in the public records request.
@David, I respect the effort you put into the No-bid Wilderness contract piece. However, it’s striking that while you invested 60 hours into that story, you didn’t take a few minutes to verify basic details in your piece about the YWCA’s leadership.
You can’t demand respect as a serious journalist and then fall back on being an amateur when criticized. Either uphold consistent professional standards or be transparent about your role as an amateur.
Esrati wants all the praise when he’s right, and will claim to be merely a “citizen journalist” when he’s wrong. You have no ethical code by which to abide, and this is why folks think you’re the village yahoo. You can’t have credibility when you have zero accountability.
As far as all of this stuff goes, I’ll wait until reputable journalists pick it up and report it. You’re the left’s version of “they’re eating cats and dogs.”
To those who are complaining about my journalism, I don’t see any of you donating to support this site. Maybe I should charge a commenting fee?
The amount of time put into stuff- like http://www.esrati.com/deadly and http://www.esrati.com/manofmystery as well as all the school board meetings I filmed, MCDP meetings, the public records requests, the court battles- without a big corporation behind me…. or a steady paycheck. I don’t even try to monetize this site with ads.
So- if you don’t like it so much- why do you bother coming here? Don’t read my drivel. Save yourself.
Paying to support you does not solve your lack of accountability in your “journalism.” What it actually does is give you an echo chamber with all your right wing lunatic followers, because they’re the only ones cultish enough to pay for things like that (see blue checks on Twitter, trump NFTs, etc – they’re not smart people).
Also, any goober can set up a camera and annoy people. The hard work is having to adhere to a code of ethics and industry standards and accountability. The closest thing to accountability you have is the fact that no one will elect you for anything beyond president of your neighborhood watch.
WY SO personal, Hoodie?
Please add some substantive commentary to clarify the subject matter of David’s post, if you can. There is space aplenty to address the confusion.
The YW not only had capital funds for the campus that they did not spend, but operational funds to support the campus – that they denied. Terra Williams took a functioning campus with services and offices, and abandoned an unsecured campus to ADAMHS.
It’s a shame to point hthe finger at Helen Jones-Kelley for the closing of the Huber Heights property. She inherited a mess from the YW. She closed, secured, and cleaned the property in less than 2.5 months. Imagine the tax dollars wasted if that had stayed on the county’s paycheck longer.