Neighbors oppose women’s drug and alcohol recovery house proposed in South Strabane and East Washington
A proposed long-term residential home for pregnant women and mothers recovering from drug and alcohol addiction is facing opposition from residents of South Strabane Township and East Washington Borough who live near the house.
Gaudenzia Foundation Inc., a Norristown non-profit organization, is seeking to purchase the home at 100 Wilmont Avenue and open a residential rehabilitation facility on the nearly seven-acre property. The property is owned by John and Kerrin McIlvaine and was on the market for about three years, Gaudenzia said.
Gaudenzia representatives held an informational meeting Wednesday at the South Strabane Township Fire Station to discuss details of the facility, and many of the approximately 50 residents of the two municipalities who attended the contentious gathering spoke out against it.
Residents expressed concerns about several issues, including the impact the facility would have on their property value, a possible increase in traffic and operating a treatment facility in an area zoned residential.
“We all want to help people with addiction issues before, during and after. I’m sure you have a great program. But my one concern is, why this location?” asked resident John Tripoli.
But operators of the proposed treatment facility maintain the home is a place for women who have completed detox and their children to transition to independent living, and contend it will not negatively impact the community.
The rehabilitation facility would house up to 16 women with up to two children each, under the age of 12, for a total of 48 occupants.
Gaudenzia would provide support services, along with transportation and access to doctors, nurses, and substance abuse treatment professionals.
Cheryl Andrews, executive director of the Washington Drug and Alcohol Commission, which receives state funding to assist uninsured and under-insured individuals, said a needs assessment conducted in 2018 revealed that, while Washington County has many treatment providers, it lacks sufficient programs for pregnant women and women with children. There’s lots of open spaces.
The commission put out a request for proposals for a program that would address that need, and Gaudenzia, one of five organizations who submitted a proposal, received the offer to provide services.
“We have two options for pregnant females in Washington County, and both are in Pittsburgh,” said Andrews. “What that does is it breaks families apart, it makes women have to leave their home county of where their family is, where their recovery support is, and they have to re-establish in Pittsburgh,” she said.
David Slenger, director of operations for Gaudenzia, which operates rehabilitation facilities throughout the state, said it is not uncommon for the organization to meet resistance from neighbors.
“We commonly go into communities and face resistance,” said Slenger. “‘Not in my back yard’ is a common phenomenon. But we have proven to be good neighbors.”
Residents, however, voiced displeasure and said they do not believe Gaudenzia has done enough research about the impact it will have on the community, which simply does not want a rehabilitation facility in the neighborhood.
Asked one resident, “What impact will it have on the health, safety and well-being of this community?”
Residents plan to meet at Citizens Library at 6 p.m. today to further discuss the rehabilitation facility.