Two Sussex recovery homes seek to expand beds

Conditional-use applications to expand the number of beds in two residential-treatment houses on opposite sides of the county were acted on quickly by Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission. That may not be the case for Sussex County Council.

During a March 28 public hearing, several residents near the homes appeared in opposition to the applications. After the hearings, council voted to defer a decision on both applications to a future meeting.

A women and children's transitional house operated by Impact Life Inc. is located near Seaford, and a men's house operated by Attack Addiction Foundation is near Harbeson.

By county code, group homes such as these are permitted to have a maximum of 10 beds without notification or land-use applications. The agencies are looking to increase the number of beds to serve more people suffering from addiction.

By taking that action, county attorney J. Everett Moore said county officials can place conditions if they approve the applications.

Home near Harbeson

Attack Addiction Foundation is seeking to increase its number of beds from 10 to 16 at the 6,000-square-foot farmhouse it purchased on a 2-acre property at 22703 Hurdle Ditch Road near Harbeson. Founder Don Keister said after meetings with area residents, they have agreed to install a privacy fence and cameras around the property.

He said the Harbeson house must meet 19 state standards, and be licensed and inspected by the state. Impact Life will operate the transitional house.

“These are not criminals or bad people. They are sick people who are taking steps to improve their lives,” he said.

The house would be monitored 24 hours a day.

He said there is no question that treatment programs are needed. Over the first nine months of 2022, there were 85 drug-related deaths in Delaware and in the third quarter alone, there were 968 drug arrests made in Sussex County.

Home near Seaford

Impact Life is seeking to expand to 13 beds in a 4,000-square-foot farmhouse on a 17-acre parcel at 4973 Boyce Road near Seaford. The residential-treatment home will be for women and children.

Executive Director Bradley Owens said the facility can operate with 10 beds, but they need to reach as many women as possible. “We have the space. There is a huge need, and we have the staff to do it,” he said.

He said the house would be staffed 24 hours a day. The residents will be provided with peer support, case management and clinical staff. In addition, the program will offer farm work as part of its daily routine. He said a full-time farm educator has been hired.

Residents will maintain a 2-acre garden, and tend to goats, rabbits, sheep, cows and pigs.

Owens said none of the residents are permitted to go outside without a staff member.

Residents can stay at the house from nine months up to two years. “This is a transitional house and treatment facility. Our goal is get our residents to live on their own,” he said.

Owens requested that council consider a change in the curfew from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. as one of the commission’s conditions. The Attack Addiction home has a curfew of 10:30 p.m.

The Seaford-area house will have a van available to transport residents.

CEO Domenica Personti said the house is handicapped accessible, and $130,000 has been spent on renovations.

Residents react to applications

Several area residents had strong words when they described the interactions between the agencies and the communities, and the lack of information about changes in their plans.

Joe Gordon, who lives 120 yards from the Harbeson house, said no one denies additional help is needed for recovering addicts. “But there is a right way and a wrong way to do this. Our quiet, peaceful and safe neighborhood will be disrupted by the presence of this program,” he said.

He said he found out about the house by word of mouth. He said the only way residents received information was through meetings set up by Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown.

“They have not done their due diligence to prepare the community. We were an afterthought, which has created a lack of trust, and fear,” Gordon added.

He said he was told the success rate of programs such as these is 33%. “We'd rather see lower numbers of people with higher success rates,” he said. “We would hope they strive for a gold standard, but they are not proven.”

Gordon said people will fail the program. “How will this affect the safety of our neighborhood?” he asked.

He asked council to consider additional conditions including no sex offenders or violent offenders, and that all residents be from Sussex County.

“If they get it right, and improve the lives of their clients and provide safety for residents, then in two or three years they apply for addition, but with proven success,” Gordon said.

Karl Thomas, who lives on Hurdle Ditch Road, said the house’s isolation presents many challenges, including transportation and police response time.

“There are no written documents to support their claims. I'm troubled that there is not a written plan of care,” he said. Thomas is an ICU nurse at Beebe Healthcare.

“If there is an established 50% failure rate, what is being done with these people to get them out of our community?” he asked.

He presented council with a petition signed by 65 residents in opposition to the application.

He said there is no site plan, not enough room for parking, and the capacity of the septic system is only enough for six residents. “We request no more than 10 until they have a track record of success,” he said.

April Callaway, who lives on Neal's School Road near Seaford, made an impassioned plea for council to not allow the increase at the Seaford-area home. “While their mission is noble, this recovery home does not fit into every community,” she said.

Callaway said the law allows the group home, and residents have no recourse to stop it. “We must just accept it. There needs to be a change in zoning laws,” she said.

Many speakers, including Callaway, said they live in a rural area with no transportation services and slow response time from police.

She said Impact Life is supposed to build a bond with the community. “You don't do that with lies and falsehoods,” she said. “For this pie in the sky dream, they will need more and more space. They will not stop at 13. We live in the country for a reason, because it's a peaceful place to go outside without fear. You must stop the extra three to protect our families and homes.”

Kelsey Mumford, who also lives on Neal's School Road, said there are too many uncertainties. “They don't care about the community. We do not trust them. We are asking you to protect us and consider our feelings,” she said.

Residents also expressed concern about a pond on the property near Seaford and a missing section of fence on the Harbeson property. Personti said they put safety first and are working on a plan to secure the pond.

She said they thought they had complied with the fence condition and put up one up to screen the view of adjacent residents. Council John Rieley said the condition states that a fence must be around three sides of the property, including the back.

“We are getting a price on that,” Personti said.

In addition, Personti said, sex offenders are not accepted as residents in the houses.