Addiction Treatment Center Set To Open Beside High School
DENVER (CBS4) - A new drug treatment facility in Denver has settled on a controversial location. The center offering methadone to addicts will operate next to East High School.
Proximity to the school is a big concern for many in the neighborhood, but the treatment center at the corner of Fillmore Street and Colfax Avenue obtained all the necessary permits to open next month.
Denver Recovery Group is a facility that will use methadone to treat those addicted to narcotics, "whether it's prescription pill addiction or heroin addiction, we work with that demographic," said partner Chad Tewksbury.
"We believe neighbors should know what's moving into their neighborhood," said Roger Armstrong of Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods, who is spreading the word about the facility.
Neighbor Rebecca Matthys told CBS4 she's worried about safety issues.
"I'm certainly going to be a lot better about keeping the house locked up," she said.
Matthys also has concerns about the students.
"I think that might be a problem for them being exposed to a certain kind of people who may not be good for them," said Matthys.
"They're already walking past these individuals in the grocery market, at the liquor store," Tewksbury said. "They're already in the community. So to say they're going to be exposed to them now that they're getting intotreatment is not true."
Questions are also being raised about the center's business hours. Some are noting that the center will be open when students walk to school on weekdays.
When asked if Denver Recovery Center considered leasing a different building, Tewksbury said, "We did. We looked at multiple buildings and we ran into the same obstacles."
"I want these people to have treatment, I'm glad they're getting treatment. I just don't know about doing it right here," said neighbor Matt Eisenhouth.
Tewksbury said the location was picked because a study determined the area of Denver where the facility is located has the greatest need for treatment services.
A neighborhood meeting will be held Tuesday night to answer questions and concerns at 6:30 p.m. at East High School.
