Representatives of Community Solutions, Inc., a private non-profit organization, discussed their plans to change the current use of their Bloomfield campus at the site to allow adult to reside there. They stated certain types of ex-offenders, such as sexual offenders, would not be permitted to participate in the program.
The commission tabled the discussion until its meeting on Feb. 22.
David Weaver, a resident and social worker for state, said during the meeting there was a need for treatment and social re-entry programs for sex offenders and arsonists.
"There is a need for our society to recognize it and provide opportunities rather than living in fear," said Weaver afterward. "It costs money. I recognize that sex offenders and arsonists need a safe place other than being incarcerated where they can go for treatment. Our society has not provided that model. Everybody is saying 'not in my backyard'."
Terry Saiya, vice-president of development for the organization, said later this week that predatory sex offenders, arsonists, adults not medically cleared for work and those with acute mental illness are screened from participating in the program.
"We understand this is an emotional issue," she said afterward. "We have been, and want to continue to be, good neighbors. We think this building is zoned appropriately for the intended use except for the need for an age change."
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The facility, which opened seven years ago and is located in a residential neighborhood, provides a non-residential program called the Oak Bridge School for juveniles from Windsor and Bloomfield that have been expelled from their respective school systems and require specialized education. The facility also contains adults that were transferred about six months ago from the Berman Treatment Center community re-entry program in Hartford that sustained damage from a fire, although the commission indicated this was on a temporary basis and had been formally approved by its members last summer.
CEO Robert Pidgeon and Sherry Albert, the vice-president of adult services for Community Solutions, said the organization has beds for 17 adults.
The Windsor-based organization, which was established in 1962, operates about 40 programs in seven states. It operates primarily in Connecticut.
Town Planner Thomas Hooper said the area where the facility is located, which is designated as an R-10 residential zone, already permits facilities that treat adults for drugs and alcohol.
Residents express concern
Several residents approached the podium in the auditorium to ask questions and express opposition to the application.
Resident Howard Hunter said he was worried the program would adversely affect property values in the surrounding neighborhood, although Albert said this was not true.
"It would not be a selling point for people trying to sell homes to say they have a halfway house in the neighborhood," said resident Joan Gamble.
Hunter said the neighborhood is not appropriate due to the presence of senior citizens and forthcoming developments there. He added that while he wasn't against the program, a different and preferably more remote location was appropriate. He said that considering Bloomfield's predominately African American demographics, the choice of the town as a planned location rather than a more traditionally suburban location like Simsbury was insulting to local residents.
Fifteen-year-old Aissa Jones said the presence of the program in the neighborhood made her feel unsafe, and referred to sex-offenders already located in Bloomfield.
"We are taxpayers," said resident Bernice Johnson to the commission. "You people make the decision for us. We do not want these people in our neighborhood."
Resident Anne Wall said the application raised issues regarding the quality of life in the neighborhood.
"No matter they are trying to do, they are not model citizens," she said. "Halfway houses should not be put in densely populated neighborhoods."
Others questioned whether the commission cared about public opinion on the application. Shouts of "we don't want it here" and "put it in your backyard" echoed in the room as the large number of residents who attended the meeting voiced their disagreement.
"This is a re-entry program," said Saiya. "It wouldn't make sense to send people to an area where thee are no services, bus routes or jobs available."
People who resided at the facility came to the meeting and discussed how the organization helped to positively change their lives. Several of them only gave their first names before they spoke.
Albert said 82 percent of the adults entered in the program succeed in entering the community. She added the 18 percent that do not succeed are not generally recidivists but participants that have not complied with the program's rules.
She said participants in the program that want to leave the facility to work or attend a function must provide a list of their intended destinations with bus schedules and other relevant information. The program clients must sign out before leaving and are subject to spot-checks, she said.
Gamble said she expected hidden costs associated with the program incurred by factors such as increased police involvement. She said if the number of residents there later increased, there was a greater chance of problems and an exponentially increased need for more police involvement.
