Neighbors concerned about men’s recovery home

To the anger and consternation of several neighbors in attendance, the Jasper Board of Zoning Appeals approved a zoning exception to operate a men’s recovery home on Jasper’s north side.

Little support for the location was garnered from those neighbors present during the meeting held Wednesday evening. However, acknowledging the need for the creation of paths to sobriety in the county as well as the fact the exception was allowed by the city’s Unified Development Ordinance, the zoning board, with three members present, approved the request from Next Steps Recovery Home.

Craig Greulich, vice president of the organization, explained the home located at 2603 Brosmer Street would be converted into a recovery home for up to five men. He stated the home would be supervised — although not by a live-in supervisor — and there were strict guidelines for maintaining residence in the home during a participant’s recovery process.

Next Steps Recovery Home, Inc. has a nine-person board comprised of community members, local elected officials, a retired judge, recovery specialists, and individuals in recovery. It formed in response to the Dubois County Community Foundation being awarded a Large-Scale Community Leadership Grant of $4.4 million through the seventh phase of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT VII) initiative with the goal of creating a recovery home for men in Dubois County. Through the grant, Next Steps received $250,000 to begin the process of establishing the recovery home.

Greulich explained that the home on Brosmer is a small step in providing options for men seeking to recover from substance abuse disorder. There is an application procedure and each applicant will be screened and approved by the board before they are admitted.

“The court is not going to order them into this,” Greulich said. “If they would like help, that’s what we’re providing here. That is what our goal has been the entire time is for all of us to come together to help guys who want the help and who do not want to go back to the environment that got them in trouble.”

He explained that the recovery house would be there for anyone in the community seeking help. It also provides a place for individuals who have gone through community corrections and, once they are released, have no place to go other than back to those previous environments.

While in the home, participants will be going through 12-step programming as well as life skill training and counseling.

“These are neighbors,” Greulich said. “We all probably know somebody who has suffered from addiction of some sort. We are going to provide them a place.”

During the public hearing, the board of zoning appeals heard several comments from the public present and read any letters submitted by neighbors that received notification of the hearing.

Neighbor Emily Ricker stated she didn’t feel comfortable with the home being located nearby since she has three young children at home during the day with a babysitter while she works. She said she was concerned with the lack of supervision at the home and the potential for the participants to relapse. “I do believe that everyone should get a second chance, I just don’t feel this is the right property,” she told the board.

Other concerns brought forward included the potential for property crimes like theft, detrimental impact on home values, and the additional traffic in the area the home will introduce.

Dave Curtis presented a petition to the board with 30 signatures from neighbors opposing the recovery home at the proposed location.

He pointed out that the home would be within walking distance of a liquor store and grocery store with alcohol sales as well as restaurants that all serve alcohol.

“I think that just makes for a bad combination,” he said.

He stated he felt the home should be in a more isolated area of the city, and they should consider a larger facility to house more men.

Dr. Errin Weisman, a primary care physician at LifeSpring in Jasper, spoke in support of the home. She pointed out that many of us are living around people who are “using substances whether we know it or not.”

“What this recovery home is doing is helping people who currently are not using,” she said. “Because if they do use, they will be expelled from the home.”

She explained statistics indicated that 16 to 20 percent of Americans are dealing with an addiction of some sort. “I hate to burst everybody’s safety bubble but we are dealing with an opioid and alcohol crisis,” Dr. Weisman said.

She explained increasing access to healthcare, education, safe housing, job stability and community connection are all important components of recovery. Dr. Weisman added that applicants to the home have already gone through rehabilitation and detoxification or through the programs offered in community corrections to assist with substance abuse before they are considered as a participant at the home.

Zoning board member Dan Buck asked if the Next Steps Recovery Home board could include a member from the neighborhood in the screening process. Representatives of the group didn’t directly affirm the idea during the meeting but indicated it could be a consideration.

Jasper Councilman Paul Lorey, representing the district covering these neighborhoods, told the board he had asked whether violent criminals or sex offenders would be allowed in the home. “The answer I received was no,” he stated.

He explained that this home would likely be the first of several homes in Jasper. “I look forward to seeing them in Huntingburg, Ferdinand, and the county as well,” Lorey said. “There is a need.”

Regarding the potential impact on property values, Lorey pointed to a home that previously held a meth lab six houses down from where Next Steps Recovery Home will be. “There was another constituent of mine that happens to live in that neighborhood that also got caught and arrested for trafficking in methamphetamine in the neighborhood. So the addiction and use is already there,” he said.

He explained the location gives the participants walkability to work and to groceries while they live there and take part in all the services on their road to sobriety.

Dubois County Community Foundation Director Clayton Boyles told the zoning board that the women’s recovery home has received a tremendous amount of support from the community. “And we’re dreaming here to be able to do that again,” he said. “I just want to say on behalf of the community foundation how thankful we are for Next Step Recovery Home.”

He explained the group has been working for several years to find a location that supports the community’s needs.

Boyles asked those present to consider getting to know their neighbors and understand that “we’re all struggling with something.”

Zoning Board Chair Josh Gunselman stated that he fully supported the mission of Next Steps Recovery Home. “There may be the perfect location out there, but we are not talking about the perfect location, we are talking about this location,” he said.

Buck thanked the public for coming and admitted it was difficult to make a decision in light of the neighbors’ concerns. “There are a lot of good points both ways,” he said.

But he added that he could get on board with allowing the exception for the recovery home.

Zoning Board Secretary Anthony Seng agreed with Buck and stated he supported the home and the organization’s goals as well.

When asked about safety concerns and supervision, Attorney Bill Kaiser, who was representing the group, explained that there would be a supervisor. He added that the men would have to abide by the rules or they would have to leave. “You break the rules, you are out because there are people on a waiting list wanting to get in,” Kaiser said, pointing to the voluntary component of the program.

Buck made a motion to approve the special exception to allow the recovery home and it was passed unanimously.