from jamie tworkowski at twloha

i wanted to share this with you. i sent it to renee as well.

Your blog is wrong and is doing a lot of damage because a lot of people just assume it’s true.

i’m writing to ask you to take it down. and here’s why:

In response to “The rest? Completely unaccounted for,” all of our 2008 financials are posted here. http://www.twloha.com/finances/ We are in the process of posting 2009 financials as those were recently submitted to the IRS.
We are accountable to the United States government (IRS) for every dollar that comes in.Our primary mission is communication. 2 out of 3 people who struggle with depression do not seek professional help, so simply funding treatment does not solve the problem. We’re trying to offer hope, trying to break the stigma and lies surrounding the issues we deal with, and we’re trying to encourage people to get help if they need it. We have a team that responds to messages and they also work on various programs and events, all of which relate to our mission.

We no longer fund Mercy Ministries.

I have already addressed this. It is not good enough that you no longer fund them. The fact that you funded them in the first place, as well as Teen Challenge is enough to tarnish my judgement of you as an LGBT-friendly organisation. Not being aware of the atrocities they were committing simply isn’t good enough, and isn’t exactly reassuring.

We are not owned by Fireproof Ministries. (No one owns a charity.)

I thought you were a Non-Profit, not a charity?

We have been on our own, established as TWLOHA, Inc. since 2007. http://www.sunbiz.org/scripts/cordet.exe?action=DETFIL&inq_doc_number=N07000008463&inq_came_from=NAMFWD&cor_web_names_seq_number=0000&names_name_ind=N&names_cor_number=&names_name_seq=&names_name_ind=X&names_comp_name=TWLOHA&names_filing_type=
We did begin under the umbrella of Fireproof in 2006, as that allowed us to start TWLOHA, however our mission was our own. It was different from XXXChurch.That said, i’m not sure what you meant by “You know, selling out for the moneys.”

I didn’t mean anything by that. I didn’t write that. Though for the record, I think both Fireproof and XXXChurch are awful. Do you not think it looks a bit weird that you set up under a pretty hardcore Christian organisation, then gave money to other hardcore Christian organisations?

Yes, they’re a ministry but they have also helped a lot of people who struggle with porn addiction and they have even helped people who were stuck in that industry. Ron Jeremy, the biggest name in porn, is a friend of Craig Gross, X3’s founder. And this would probably not be the case if Craig were a jerk.

i have no idea who Teen Mania or Ron Luce is. We have nothing to do with them.

Your Facebook Causes page used to say “Donations to the cause benefit Teen Mania Ministries.”

As for homophobia, i think we’ve made it very clear lately that we exist to serve all people, regardless of beliefs or lifestyle choices. We exist to bring a message of hope and help and community to all people. Here’s a recent example: http://www.twloha.com/news.php?nid=180
We hear from people every day who tell us that we are accomplishing our mission. Our facebook page is filled with such comments, people finding hope and encouragement. i meet people on the road all the time who say that they’re still alive because of TWLOHA. i’m not asking you to love TWLOHA or me. i am asking you to do some research and stop spreading lies.
Thanksjamie

Homosexuality isn’t a belief or a lifestyle choice and associating it with either is in itself heteronormative and homophobic. It is a sexual orientation, and regardless of how nice you are to the LGBT community now, that does not erase the fact you funded organisations that exorcised gay people, and believed that their sexual identity could be reversed with therapy.

I won’t take down the post. I will however edit it to more accurately reflect the research I have done myself. I will continue to inform people about TWLOHA’s associations with Mercy Ministries and Teen Challenge however, as I feel if you’re going to offer services to gay and trans* (and women for that matter, as both of those organisations are anti-choice) young people, they have every right to make an informed decision about who they go to for help, and who they support. (Edit: decided to not and leave the original post up with a link to this)

On a final note, how exactly do you think you’re supporting those in need by referring to them as ‘broken? Not only is this ableist and psychophobic, it’s incredibly insulting.

Edit: Actually, let’s keep the original post with a link to this.