The problem with the Homeless Not Toothless Charity

 

For many of us, sitting in front of a TV screen, and just watching some mindless tv show is good fun. It helps decompress from a long day at school, and/or work. A guilty pleasure of mine is Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. However, on the fourteenth episode of the twelfth season titled: "Shameless Not Ruthless", I could not believe the level of delusion and lack of self-awareness these affluent women showed. To summarize, Dorit Kemsley, one of the housewives featured in the show spoke about a charity that she had been working on called Homeless Not Toothless. Their mission statement states that this “501c3 nonprofit has provided free dental care to disadvantaged populations including Veterans, the homeless, poor, mentally ill, physically disabled, foster youth, domestic violence survivors, and the elderly, in the greater Los Angeles and surrounding areas since 1991. A particular focus is on veterans with disabilities including PTSD. Patients receive dental screenings, cleanings, x-rays, fillings, oral health education, and surgeries such as extractions, as well as dentures, free of charge (as long as funding still exists) or for any donation amount”. Immediately, this rubbed me the wrong way, because the name alone is problematic. The way it sounds to me is like someone is saying “I may be homeless but look at my teeth”. 

 Moreover, some of its Google Reviews are admittedly not great. With a review from three years ago from someone named Dimantha Polgahavattage calling it a “big time money stealing program that is set up to collect donations [and how she] has been trying to register [into] the Homeless program for six months, but they say [that the] waiting list [is] full”. Two months ago the owner replied saying that they “ have over 1000 people on our waiting list. Our first priority is to homeless veterans, I am sorry you do not qualify for this program, however to berate us and say we are stealing is untrue and defamatory. We have treated over 102,000 patients over the past 30 years, these patients are grateful for what they have received, perhaps one day you too will be part of this group. And yes, I do have a full time practice that works out of the same location, this is how my non profit gets the use of a dental office for NO FEE, so I am grateful for this business relationship between my nonprofit and for profit business…”. Like that review had been posted with no reply for three years until two months ago. I just feel that they could be more transparent that there’s a for profit business, and to not treat the folks who go to seek help so badly. In addition, having it be featured on the aforementioned reality tv show just felt tacky to me.

Instead of coming across like these women wanted to truly help with the homeless situation, it came across as the kind of thing they donate to, but don’t do enough research beforehand. It’s more of a way of showing their wealth and acting like they are doing something good for others. When the reality is that there’s better ways they could help. So instead of supporting a so-called charity, I would instead urge you to look for a better charity, and to learn more information about them click here.