CITY LIMITS: Whose backyard? Area rooming house debate

For Sharon Hannum, the Halfway There rooming house is a place to give recovered drug and alcohol users a chance to live in a safe and comfortable environment while they try to find work and get their lives in order. For Linda Henson, Halfway There means bringing former drug and alcohol users into her already drug-infested community, which helps neither the rooming house occupants nor the troubled community. Hannum opened Halfway There on Chestnut Street between 41st and 42nd streets last November. She said last week that she opened the house in order to provide affordable housing for recovered drug and alcohol users while they hunt for jobs and try to regain their independence. Only single men are allowed to live in the house, Hannum said, and they must be out of the house during the day, looking for employment. If they do not succeed in finding work within eight weeks after they take up residence at Halfway There, they are asked to leave. Women are only permitted to visit in a public area on the ground floor. In order for recovering addicts to live in the house, they must produce proof of discharge from a rehabilitation or detoxification program, Hannum added. In addition, if any of the residents are found or discovered to have used drugs or consumed alcohol, they are immediately expelled from the house. But despite these ground rules, several community residents said last week that they do not believe their community is appropriate for such a facility. Linda Henson, director of South Of Market Against Drugs, claims that the neighborhood is already "drug-infested" and that placing recovered addicts in the community will only enhance their chances of relapse. Henson said that her group, known as SOMAD, is a community action group organized to battle the widespread drug use in the community. Henson also said last week that the community's existing "drug economy" creates an overwhelming temptation for recovered addicts to return to drugs and alcohol, making it unsafe to have recovered addicts in the community. Hannum is not present at the facility on a full-time basis. She also works as director of Edgewood Retirement Home, dividing her time between the two homes. Tony Nelson, the manager of Halfway There who is in charge of the day-to-day upkeep of the facilities, said last week that he is a former drug addict himself and has been "clean" for 19 months. But Nelson added that he is also not present in the house during the entire day, saying that he serves as manager of Miller Home, a facility similar to Halfway There, located at 3214 Baring Street. While he is off the premises, Nelson said he has a staff of other recovered addicts, all of whom have been "clean" for at least a year, who live in the home and deal with any problems that arise. Henson insisted last week that she is not against rooming houses such as Halfway There. She said that the houses are necessary to complete the rehabilitation process, but she added that such a facility does not belong in a community which she described as overrun with the very problems from which the residents of the home have just recovered. "It's not helpful to the residents of the home because its not a clean environment for them to live in," Henson said. "And it's not helpful to the neighborhood because increasing the number of potential clients increases the drug economy." The Rev. Larry Falcon, pastor at the Covenant Community Church on 43rd Street, said last week that adding former drug users to the community will cause more problems than it will solve. "We are in an impacted, overcrowded community where crack is the drug of choice among our youth," Falcon said. "We're not against drug rehabilitation centers, but to put a place like this in this community is absurd. Frankly, I'd rather they be any place but our neighborhood." Halfway There manager Nelson said that those who oppose the home are employing a "double standard." He said that community residents consider rooming houses in their communities troublesome, although the same people may believe that the concept can work in other neighborhoods. "It's not up to them to draw the conclusion that if [the recovered addicts] are in this environment, they'll have a harder time," Nelson said." · The history of the building in which the home is located also contributes to the controversy surrounding the rooming house. The two buildings comprising Halfway There were previously rented to the city for use as a homeless shelter. According to area residents, when the city operated the homeless shelter in the house, there was an drastic increase in the amount of crime and loitering in the area. Haig Injaian, who owns a carpet store next to the house, recalled last week all the problems he had when the building was used as a shelter and, subsequently, when the squatters moved into the house. Injaian expressed concern that Halfway There would just be a renovated version of the old problems. "In the old place, it was like a garbage dump," he said. "People were urinating out the windows, throwing rocks at people, scratching our cars, and dealing drugs. We just don't want this to be another 'Here we go again . . . ' " However, Injaian added that he had not had any major problems yet with any of the residents of the present home. · SOMAD director Henson and members of the community organization said that they have numerous concerns about Halfway There and its management. First, they said that they are concerned that supervision at the home is inadequate. They cite the fact that neither Nelson nor Hannum is on the house's premises full time, which they say could allow residents to slip back to their old habits without anyone noticing. Henson said that Halway There owner Hannum has not had enough experience at running such a rooming house and is not equipped to deal with unforeseen problems. "I don't believe that the supervisory people there can be trusted to deal with the problems that could arise," she said. But Hannum said last week that she has worked extensively at the Thoroughgood Nursing Home and at the Presbyterian Hospital for 12 years. But Falcon said he believed Hannum and Nelson do not have enough clinical experience in treating drug abuse, adding that that having former drug addicts in charge of security for other recovered drug addicts is not effective supervision. "Sharon Hannum doesn't even know the symptoms of someone on cocaine," Falcon said. "She doesn't realize that when their eyes look like pissholes in the snow, they're on crack cocaine." "And Tony Nelson means well, but he's naive in thinking that everyone can be as big a success as he is," Falcon added. "Someone who at one time did not have complete control over himself should not be charged with supervising up to 60 former addicts." Nelson, however, said last week that it is precisely the fact that he is a former addict which adds to his capabilities in dealing with former users. He believes that only a former addict can truly understand the feelings of other former users and help them re-enter mainstream life. "As a recovered user, I can see things that no one else can see," Nelson said. "Progress with these men can only come as a direct result of one addict helping another. Only a former addict can best understand another former addict because they've been through the same thing." · SOMAD's Henson said that, because area residents have little confidence in the management of Halfway There, they feel they have no recourse if conflicts develop between house occupants and residents of the community. Halfway There owner Hannum and manager Nelson both have assured residents of the community that there will not be any problems. They added that they promised area residents that they would summarily handle any complaints about the rooming house. "We gave our numbers to SOMAD," Hannum said. "If anyone has a problem, they know how to find us. We'll investigate, and if we find a problem, we'll solve it." Falcon said he doesn't accept Hannum's pledge to cooperate with the community. He believes that Hannum is only concerned with the "bottom line" -- profit. "We have a vested interest in the community," Falcon said. "[Hannum] has a vested interest in her back pocket." Residents of Halfway There who have a job pay a $75 weekly fee for which they receive a room and two meals a day. If a resident does not have work, Hannum said she tries to get the resident Public Welfare Assistance and charges a rent of $45 per week. Hannum and Nelson said that they are very hopeful for the house's success, despite the concerns of the area residents. They said that they hope that they can give the residents of the home a fair chance at getting their lives back together. They also hope that the community will come to accept what they are trying to do and work with them to solve problems. "We look at them as people who trying to start a new life," Nelson said. "They still look at them as drug addicts. If the community would take the time to understand what we are doing, they wouldn't be afraid or concerned. Until then, there's nothing I can do."

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