HERRIMAN — A group of residents are upset with a plan to bring a residential drug recovery facility to their neighborhood and there is little they can do about it.
The home on Rocky Point Drive will soon become a women's drug and alcohol recovery center.
“It’s a 90-day program for individuals struggling with addiction,” said Deborah Wayman, the home’s clinical director. The house will include a full staff and seven women, ages 18 to 50, and is an ideal spot for the program, Wayman said.
“In a neighborhood, it’s about being home. It’s about normalizing the lives of these women,” Wayman said.
Dave Crook has lived on Rocky Point Drive for nearly 21 years. “We love our neighborhood,” he said. “There’s kids running around all the time.”
For Crook, who lives next door to the soon-to-be rehab home, the news of the residential drug recovery facility was a complete surprise.
“It was very much a surprise for everyone in the neighborhood, and everyone is pretty much up in arms about it,” Crook said.
The list of concerns include children's safety, parking issues, neighbors concerned about who will be coming and going from the house and the potential for property values to decrease.
“I’m not against rehabbing, but not in a beautiful neighborhood like this,” Crook said.
Wayman said the home will be staffed 24/7 and ensures there is nothing to be worried about because it will just be a home for women to get the help they need.
Last week, city officials addressed the site plans and the mounting concerns, but Mayor Carmen Freeman told Crook and his neighbors, “There’s nothing we can do with these types of facilities. They have every right to come.”
“Alcoholics and recovering addicts are given special privileges under the Fair Housing Act. They’re actually considered disabled persons,” said Ted McBride, the attorney representing the owner of the new treatment home.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, facilities are protected. McBride was at the meeting to make sure that law is upheld.
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