Back to the drawing board: Sober living group home searching for new location

Two organizations, one from Kokomo, the other Indianapolis, are hoping to install at least one local sober living group home in an attempt to help the community’s most vulnerable residents to recidivism and drug relapse.

And a public meeting last week, combined with reactions to a related case's denial, show both the roadblocks and commitment to bringing such a facility to Howard County.

Notably, the Kokomo City Board of Zoning Appeals on Tuesday voted down a case that could have initiated a residential drug rehabilitation facility in a neighborhood near the city’s downtown.

In its monthly meeting, BZA members voted 3-1 to deny a petition for a special exception from Indianapolis-based transitional housing organization Simply Devine for a residential group home at 1110 E. Sycamore St. – a proposal that generated various concerns from neighborhood residents and board members.

The group home, said Simply Divine officials, was planned for eight to 10 people, specifically recovery felons seeking drug counseling and rehabilitation.

But the BZA denial places Simply Divine, which owns the Sycamore Street home, back at the drawing board in the organization’s attempt to provide services to the Kokomo area, something officials say they are still committed to doing.

Simply Divine, according to its website, is “dedicated to providing a cost-effective combination of affordable housing with wrap-around services to assist men and women with developing stability in their lives.”

And planned for the Kokomo home was a “sober living environment for folks who are coming out of incarceration and in need of drug treatment services,” said Simply Divine CFO George Brown. Simply Divine’s housing is available to people in probation, specialty court and re-entry programs and more.

But a “findings of fact” reading and a petition signed by neighbors and area residents highlighted the proposal’s various troubles.

The staff’s findings of fact document – which is developed for each case that comes before the BZA and was read by Executive Director Greg Sheline – noted that given “the turnaround of new clients every 90-180 days together with a success rate of only 25% of [Simply Divine’s] clients being acclimated back into society, it is possible this Group Home could be injurious to the community – and more specifically this particular neighborhood.”

In general, BZA members and neighborhood residents rejected the idea of placing the group home in a purely residential area. An area boasting at least some commercial presence may be better suited for such a facility, said Sheline in a later interview.

Parking concerns were also cited by the BZA, along with the idea that “neighbors and potential homebuyers may find this use inconsistent with the surrounding community due to the proposed use.”

One nearby resident, Adrianne Brown, spoke about her security- and safety-related concerns.

“If we didn’t have fences between our yards, the people, their clients, would be able to walk back and forth through everybody’s yard, mine in particular and my next door neighbor,” she said. “And I just don’t think that they will have enough security, and I oppose.”

Brown’s comments were followed by the presentation of a petition against the proposal, which specifically cited the proximity of two nearby schools to the neighborhood.

During the meeting, both Brown and Simply Divine CEO Nathan Rush extolled the virtues of Simply Divine’s work, which houses people on average for roughly 90 days, and the pressing need for recovery-based services that can assist addicts and lead to increased employment opportunities.

“As we know, our state is in the midst of an opioid epidemic, and many of the people that we serve have experienced other people dying from overdose, so it’s pretty traumatic on a person,” said Rush. “So a lot of times when you’re drug addicted, what you rely on is your drugs to get you through those kinds of things.

“We teach people how to manage those emotions and feelings. That’s part of what we do at Simply Divine…so people can be in a safe place where they won’t have access to drugs and other activities that go along with that.”

And in an interview Friday, Rush said Simply Divine is planning to reconvene with city officials in their attempt to find a more suitable group home location. He noted that the East Sycamore Street location will likely be cleaned up and used as a single-family dwelling.

Rush, who recently became the organization’s CEO, said Simply Divine was prepared for the denial because the previous CEO “didn’t do his due diligence.”

“The right way to do it is to come and meet with the leaders of various communities, and then have them tell us, ‘Well, this is a good place to put this kind of a facility,’” he said, setting a timeline of six months to again address the situation.

“So that’s what we want to do – we want to foster some relationships in Kokomo.”

Often, facilities similar to Simply Divine’s proposal also focus on lowering the chance of recidivism. The Indiana Department of Correction, which defines recidivism as a return to incarceration within three years of a release date, reported a recidivism rate of 36.99 percent in 2016.

Rush also referenced Simply Divine’s reliance on the state’s Recovery Works forensic treatment program, which assists mental health or substance abuse/addiction service providers through funding and other measures.

Recovery Works is designed “to provide support services to those without insurance coverage who are involved with the criminal justice system,” according to the state’s website.

Now, a local organization also certified through Recovery Works has expressed its own motivation and commitment to bringing, specifically, a male-focused transitional living program.

Reba Harris, executive director of The Gilead House, said that if Simply Divine doesn’t open a home, her organization could fill that void.

In fact, The Gilead House worked with Simply Divine this summer to open a transitional living program that allows women recently released from jail or prison to live at the Gilead House free of charge for up to six months while they work through a recovery program designed to help them successfully re-enter society.

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Tamara Biehle, a support specialist, gives a tour of the living quarters during an open house at The Gilead House. A new recovery program in which women recently released from jail can live there free for up to six months starts started this summer.

Tim Bath | Kokomo Tribune

Tim Bath

Now, though, The Gilead House stands on its own, certified since Dec. 1 to run both the housing and treatment side of operations.

And it’s Harris’ goal to provide something similar for men, and she said she is eagerly keeping tabs on what happens with Simply Divine.

“The men deserve to have a place too,” she said. “I think we need to try to find something that the city would approve of, try to find the funds to remodel or whatever, because in the process of talking about these houses, we’ve always promised them that we would get something for them too.”

“We go to the jail every Tuesday…and the men say, ‘Ms. Harris, Ms. Harris, Ms. Harris, when are you going to get a place for us? Don’t forget us.’ And I say, ‘I promise you. We’ll get a place for you.’”

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