Multiple former employees report an abusive work environment at Reach Services including: rampant fraud, anger management issues among senior leadership, disregard for mental health concerns, lack of training, and wrongful terminations.
Several of these employees worked with Reach Veterans Services, a program designed to help veterans without housing find shelter and other support such as assistance with utilities, rent, transportation, food, and child care. Unfortunately, when the employees themselves needed help many stated that they were denied.
Sadly, many of these former employees are veterans themselves, and some had previously received services from Reach. A few admitted to having attempted suicide partly because of their treatment, and one man named Bill Whitman recently took his own life in the Reach Services parking lot.
A common allegation from a half dozen of these former employees is that they were hired because Reach was in desperate need of help. They were asked to perform technical job requirements for which they were not trained, then they were screamed at or fired by supervisors for minor infractions. Then several were threatened if they did not agree to write letters of resignation to prevent payment of unemployment.
Reach services was contacted twice by email with no response, and once by phone and was connected with Travis Phillips who stated, “We’re not going to take the phone call because we do not respond to misinformation.”
As previously reported one veteran stated that he was, “financially and psychologically ruined by Reach Veterans Services,” several stated that they believed Reach Services director Susie Thompson was trying to “break them,” and one claimed Thompson told her, “I will send you back to the hood.”
Employees also reported being asked to falsify documents including time cards. At one point the Reach Veterans Services program had only two employees while trying to care for 82 veterans and those employees were frequently denied the overtime pay required to care for their clients.
Allegations were also made that employees were told to make false claims on federal and local grant reports including a large grant received from the United Way of the Wabash Valley. Investigations are being made into these claims and follow up article will be written detailing the exact information regarding these accusations.
Terre Haute Vice News 
Leave a reply to Melissa Gray Cancel reply