An Update on My Reporting of the Peterson Story: A Retraction
Arif Hasan
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Since publishing a piece that looked a little further into the 990 forms of the All Day Foundation and the associated charities involved, I’ve contacted and been contacted by a few people involved in the story and issued an in-post edit that distinguished two separate charities, not involved with each other, called “Straight from the Heart” and two separate people named Bill Horn who have had different levels of involvement with charities of that name.
Unfortunately, that in-post edit did not fully resolve the confusion between the two—the wronged parties have continued to receive media inquiries. My apologies to my readers for causing this confusion and not fully resolving it when learning of my error. My further apology to both Bill Horn and Straight from the Heart Resource Center for causing the two of them trouble in making the connections that I did. I erred, and that’s a disservice to everyone involved.
The William Horn involved with the All Day Foundation is not the Bill Horn involved in the HHS of San Diego. The William Horn who was the former treasurer of Adrian Peterson’s charity was listed as the director of the Straight from the Heart Ministries that Adrian Peterson donated to, formerly involved in advocacy against homosexuality with Reggie White.
That group is unaffiliated with the Straight from the Heart Resource Center. The level of involvement they have with Bill Horn at the San Diego Health and Human Services is far different; he is not on their board or a director—he simply serves on the same HHS that has provided support for this group, which is involved in enabling resources for foster children and parents in the San Diego area.
Straight From The Heart, Inc., located in San Marcos, California, is a non-profit organization founded in 1998 by Patricia (Patti) Boles as a resource center for foster, adoptive and kinship children and their caregivers that serves all of San Diego County. The organization, which has helped thousands of families, provides legal resources, counseling on grief and separation loss and advice on how to deal with difficult behaviors and medical concerns associated with adoptive and foster children. In addition, the organization offers first aid and CPR training, support groups, and workshops on how to care for foster children and typical challenges encountered by foster parents. Straight from the Heart is run entirely by volunteers, all of whom are foster and adoptive parents, is designed to support and advocate for the children and families who navigate the complex and overburdened Child Welfare System. They operate solely on grants and donations from the community.
Twice I’ve been directed to a website of theirs that no longer exists, in part because it was the old listing for their website. They are no longer listed at straightfromtheheartinc.com, but at straightfromtheheartinc.org. At that website, you can donate, as many other donors have done.
Once again, I apologize to our readers, and to the other writers at Vikings Territory for the post. I further apologize to Patti Boles, her donors, volunteers and the organization she runs—Straight from the Heart—for the trouble this has caused. I also apologize to Bill Horn at the San Diego HHS.
Ms. Boles has done a fantastic job for her group and has been recognized by L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth for her work and positive contributions to the foster care system, an already difficult to navigate system that often requires the tireless work of committed volunteers like her.