A plan to open a sober living house for women near downtown Bellefontaine has met almost no resistance from neighbors or other community members, officials said during a planning meeting Thursday.
Members of the recovery housing committee of the Mental Health Drug and Alcohol Services Board of Logan and Champaign Counties meet outside of the 216 E. Chillicothe Ave. home designated for a women’s recovery house in Bellefontaine. (EXAMINER PHOTO | REUBEN MEES) |
Regardless, the group said they are continuing to address issues that will make the 216 E. Chillicothe Ave. house the safest possible environment for both the neighborhood and the four adult women who will reside there as they begin recovery from drug addiction.
The goal is to purchase the house by the end of February, spend about two months completing any additional work and identifying suitable residents before beginning operation in May or June, said Jon Brown of Residential Administrators Inc., the housing company that will oversee the home.
“It’s been a very different situation in Logan County than it was in Champaign County,” Tammy Nicholl of the Mental Health Drug and Alcohol Services Board of Logan and Champaign Counties said. “People have been very open to it. There are no yard signs.”
Last year, Urbana residents vocally opposed a location selected for a house there and efforts to open a men’s recovery house there are still not fully on track.
“It’s been very positive in Bellefontaine with city officials supporting the effort,” Mr. Brown said.
Bellefontaine Mayor Ben Stahler said his administration is “100 percent” behind the sober living concept and that the neighborhood is zoned R-3, or multi-family residential, which is ideal for the proposed use. He also said his office has not received calls from citizens regarding the recovery house.
Read complete story in Friday’s Examiner.
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