Once a Rat, Always a Rat

I talked to a colleague of mine today at center that helps pregnant women that I used to volunteer at. She told me the "rat" (pictured left, identity not hidden) has kind of royally screwed them over.

I got involved with this center a few years ago when they needed bilingual volunteers. They would simply come next door, where I worked for the rat, and get me when they needed someone to translate. The rat would let me go without saying anything about it so he keep up his good image. I could not stand working for the rat after a while because of his poor morals and corrupt business practices that I am sure are going to land him in boiling, hot water sooner or later. I didn't want to stick around to get stuck in anything I don't want to be a part of.

Anyway, fast forward three years. After a divorce, losing his house to his ex and grown children, his spot on various city committees, etc., one would think he would have thought, "Hummm, maybe I should not act like such a jerk so I don't lose things that are important in my life." Nah, he's still out trying to make a buck anyway he can.

His latest shenanigan is hurting a non-profit I care about. He rents space to the pregnancy center and recently raised their rent. He did this after they signed a 2-year agreement to stay in the building. The building is awful, too. It has a few parking spot that are taken up by the rat's employees, so the pregnant women have to park across the street and waddle across a very dangerous highway (that has no crosswalk or lights) that frequently has accidents. On top of this, maintenance is not provided. Okay, so this is the normal stuff that has gone on forever.

What gets to me is that now the rat is telling the center that they have to give up about 40% of their space because a massage therapist is going to rent that space from him. One would think: 40% less space=40% less in rent payment. The rent amount has not budged a bit. On top of this, the privacy of the center's clients is now compromised because the clients of the massage therapist will be accessing facilities that are supposed to be exclusively for use by the center's clients.

Needless to say, those involved with the center are about livid about this situation. I told my colleague to pack up and move anywhere else because I'm sure that anywhere they go there will be better parking, building maintenance, facilities, rent prices, and landlords.

How can people take advantage of non-profit charitable organizations and sleep at night? I guess you'd have to be a rat to do so.