UNFAIR!

Rene Cantrell thinks the homeless shelter that's been allowing her to stay without charging her a dime is unfair.

Rene says that last September, she found herself homeless. I can't imagine that. Does one just wake up one day to find that the house is gone? Is there no clue that that possibility looms? Rene may say she lost her job -- did she not have an emergency fund stashed back? Rene may say that a natural disaster took her home -- did she not have insurance? At any rate, Rene "found herself" homeless.

She went to a homeless shelter and was given a place to sleep. The second day she was homeless, she got a part-time job. Good for you, Rene! Now comes the complaint. She says that a couple of weeks ago, she came back to the shelter to find that it was full, and they did not have a bed for her. The rules are first come, first served except for those with full-time employment.

She says that every time she walks out the door, there is the possibility that she will lose her spot. She thinks the shelter should "understand" and break the rules for her. The flip side of that, Rene, is that if they break the rules for you, that means some other woman loses a place to sleep. How would you feel if you were next in line, and someone who didn't qualify for a bed under the house rules was given the last bed? I think Rene has the common affliction of today -- an entitlement attitude.

Rene says she is "so thoroughly disgusted." So am I, Rene.

By the way, I have no way of knowing if it's the same Rene Cantrell, but there are a couple of arrest records for someone by that name. Seems as if that Rene has sticky fingers. Wonder if that could have anything to do with a person finding herself homeless.

"Work or stand in line?" The Dallas Morning News; November 23, 2013; p. 26A.