Headwinds are buffeting The Van, but director says closing not an option

Under somewhat dire-sounding circumstances, the founder of The Van, Aaron Reddin, has been tagged back into service as an interim executive director, with his first tasks being to get to the bottom of a theft, look for a new executive director and increase donations.

In April, Parker Reid took over as director, but as of Monday morning, Reddin said, he is no longer employed by The Van, a nonprofit that locates and takes aid to unsheltered, homeless people. Reddin made it clear that Reid’s departure was unrelated to the theft of some $5,000 in farm equipment taken from the group’s 10-acre farm in North Little Rock or the unauthorized use of a fuel credit card.

“That was a personnel matter, and we don’t discuss those,” Reddin said, “and I want to absolutely dispel any idea that Parker was involved in the theft. He was not.”

Reddin said a police report was filed in early August about the stolen items from the farm, which, in the past, has provided some revenue for the nonprofit, although this summer, he said, “has been abysmal.” 

No arrests have been made, although that could change when police are asked to look into what Reddin said was the improper use of the agency’s fuel card by a former employee.

Reddin, who founded The Van 15 years ago and was its director until Reid took over, said the board tapped him to be the interim director on Sunday night. He said he has an ongoing health issue that wouldn’t allow him to return as a full-time executive director but that he could keep things going for a while, adding that he would not be paid.

“I can’t carry this longterm,” he said. “But I can be a trusted executive director and point person for now.”

Reddin said the theft loss is covered by insurance.

“So eventually, once all the dust has settled and the police have had time to look into this, we should be reimbursed for that loss,” he said.

Still, Reddin said he wanted to be fully transparent with the public about what’s going on at the agency.

“We operate on almost 100% private donations,” he said. “And we think of each dollar that we get as a precious gift. We take that very, very seriously. You can say a lot of things about us, but funny money is not one of them. That just does not happen here.”

Reddin said he would work with the board to put in place policies that would reduce the risk of future thefts, and that once that work is finished, around the end of the year, the board would advertise for a new director.

A more immediate concern, Reddin said, is that donations are down, “because everything is costing more for everyone,” at a time when diesel is costing almost twice what it was selling for at the first of the year. Since February, before Trump and Israel started the Iran war, diesel has risen to about $6.20 per gallon, the highest it’s ever been in the state’s history, according to AAA. 

“We have a lot of equipment that runs on diesel to help us get ourselves and our equipment out in the snow and ice in the winter to reach people,” Reddin said. “With the price of diesel, it’s going to be hard to get through this winter.”

Reddin said, however, that the agency’s mission would continue. The Van recently bought a building in Morgan that is being renovated to become a temporary shelter in the winter “so there will be no question about whether people will have a place to go.” 

“We don’t stop the work,” he said. “Our philosophy has always been, ‘you do the work and the support will come.’ And that’s the way we’re proceeding.”

Turning out the lights is not an option, Reddin said.

“I can’t let it close,” he said. “We’ve come too far.”