The Salvation Army has been falling short as it attempts to follow through on an offer to pay househ...

1. Good Intentions, Poor Performance - CBS News
The Salvation Army has been falling short as it attempts to follow through on an offer to pay
household bills for families affected by the terrorist attacks, leaving some bills unpaid, The New York
Times reported in its Saturday editions.
The charity, which raised more than $60 million to help victims of the attacks, lacked the technology
to handle the thousands of bills which poured in, causing long backlogs, The Times said.
The Salvation Army has received more than 30,000 bills, from rent to car insurance payments,
according to The Times. Without the staff or equipment to handle the volume, thousands of bills
went unpaid.
"This is very embarrassing. We feel badly about it, and we're doing everything we can to get our
system to work," Alfred J. Peck, Jr., the director of social services for the Salvation Army in New
York, told The Times.
One widow's car insurance was canceled; hundreds of families got late notices and had to
scramble to preserve essential services or prevent a smudge on their credit history.
"We've got all kinds of horror stories," said Carie Lemack, president of Families of Sept. 11, a victim
advocacy group. "One man got an eviction notice when his rent wasn't paid."
The charity updated its laser printers and assigned volunteers to field 75 to 100 calls each day from
worried families, The Times said.
Peck told The Times that he is unaware of any service cutoffs that have been caused by the
problems.
He said that with an upgraded check processing system, the agency expects to be caught up in the
next few weeks.
The charity has sent urgent letters to utilities, credit-card companies and others assuring them bills
will be paid.

2. "The major mortgage companies and rental agencies are OK with this; they're forgiving late fees,
because they recognize that it's the Army and they're going to get their money," Peck said.
Charity officials first estimated they might spend about $5 million on their bill-paying effort but now
concede they do not know what the total payments will amount to.
Meanwhile, there was word that The Family Assistance Center, a gathering place for relatives who
lost loved ones in the World Trade Center attack, will have a new home beginning Monday.
The center has provided a variety of services to family members, including counseling and job
assistance. Soon after the Sept. 11 attacks, the center was set up at Pier 94 on the Hudson River in
the middle of Manhattan.
The new center will be at a city-owned site in lower Manhattan.
Agencies such as the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and Safe Horizon were dismantling their spaces
Friday in preparation for the move.
Workers "have been working closely with the mayor's office to ensure a smooth transition for the
familis, workers and residents impacted by the Sept. 11 attacks," said Gordon J. Campbell, chief
executive officer of Safe Horizon.
The city will maintain an impromptu memorial wall created outside the pier. The memorial
comprises victims' pictures, poems and other mementoes left by relatives.
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