Recovery center plan draws concern from neighbors
A faith-based recovery center for boys is hoping to open in Southwest Eugene, but not everyone wants the program in their backyard.
Greg Pitts of Teen Challenge Pacific Northwest wants to bring 15 boys, ages 12 to 17, to Southwest Eugene to turn their lives around.
"Rebellion, grades are slipping, their son, in this case, is not opening up to them," Pitts says of the symptoms for which parents might send their kids to Teen Challenge. "They want to know how they can help; they're just kind of parents at their wit's end."
The program looked all over Lane County, from Blue River to Cottage Grove, before finally settling here on Bailey Hill Road.
But you can count the 4J school district among those that aren't sure this is the best place for a group care facility, given its proximity to Twin Oaks Elementary School.
"Certainly," explains 4J's Kelly McIver, "the safety of our students and our families, and the community members that use our facilities, and the security of our property, those are our number one concerns."
Pitts counters that the worst-case scenario would be that this campus would take a kid that had been caught drinking, or experimenting with marijuana.
"So if we're dealing with some severe cases where there's some hard-core kids, they'll be beyond the scope of what we have to offer," Pitts says. "So we just have to say, I'm sorry, we're not touching those kinds of issues."
McIver says 4J looks forward to an upcoming public hearing where they can learn more about Teen Challenge.
Meanwhile, Pitts says he understands why neighbors might be concerned, but he'll explain his program to anyone who'll take the time to listen.
"I've invited all the neighbors to contact me so that we could get to the table and talk this through,"he explains, "but I haven't had any takers so far."
To that end, Greg Pitts gave us his phone number for neighbors to get in touch with him. He can be reached on his cell phone at 503-812-6366. You can also visit Teen Challenge's web site by clicking on the link at the top of this page.
The next step for Teen Challenge, and concerned neighbors, is a public hearing on zoning set for September 10th.
Greg Pitts of Teen Challenge Pacific Northwest wants to bring 15 boys, ages 12 to 17, to Southwest Eugene to turn their lives around.
"Rebellion, grades are slipping, their son, in this case, is not opening up to them," Pitts says of the symptoms for which parents might send their kids to Teen Challenge. "They want to know how they can help; they're just kind of parents at their wit's end."
The program looked all over Lane County, from Blue River to Cottage Grove, before finally settling here on Bailey Hill Road.
But you can count the 4J school district among those that aren't sure this is the best place for a group care facility, given its proximity to Twin Oaks Elementary School.
"Certainly," explains 4J's Kelly McIver, "the safety of our students and our families, and the community members that use our facilities, and the security of our property, those are our number one concerns."
Pitts counters that the worst-case scenario would be that this campus would take a kid that had been caught drinking, or experimenting with marijuana.
"So if we're dealing with some severe cases where there's some hard-core kids, they'll be beyond the scope of what we have to offer," Pitts says. "So we just have to say, I'm sorry, we're not touching those kinds of issues."
McIver says 4J looks forward to an upcoming public hearing where they can learn more about Teen Challenge.
Meanwhile, Pitts says he understands why neighbors might be concerned, but he'll explain his program to anyone who'll take the time to listen.
"I've invited all the neighbors to contact me so that we could get to the table and talk this through,"he explains, "but I haven't had any takers so far."
To that end, Greg Pitts gave us his phone number for neighbors to get in touch with him. He can be reached on his cell phone at 503-812-6366. You can also visit Teen Challenge's web site by clicking on the link at the top of this page.
The next step for Teen Challenge, and concerned neighbors, is a public hearing on zoning set for September 10th.
