Two years ago, the Porter County Council awarded $200,000 in county income tax funds for start-up costs for a new teen drug addiction center.

This week, the council received a similar request, this time from a new not-for-profit group that hopes to open a halfway house in Valparaiso for men recovering from addiction.

Supporters of the Harold “Hal” Kelley Respite Foundation, Inc. asked the council for up to $458,665 in one-time start-up funds to purchase and renovate a four-plex on Chicago Street. No final decisions were made.

Foundation president Mitch Peters said that once the halfway house is up and running, it would be self-sufficient in meeting its operating expenses, but that start-up funds are needed soon to purchase the property. The foundation has already received the necessary zoning variance from the city.

Porter County Commissioner President Robert Harper, who spoke in support of the project, said the only funding source the county could likely tap relatively quickly would be the county income tax revenues.

The county has a projected balance of $5.6 million in unallocated income tax money, much of which was carried over from last year.

The proposed halfway house would serve up to 16 men and would work closely with Porter County’s drug court, which provides specialized programming for drug offenders. The new facility would provide a highly structured environment and would be modeled after the halfway house for women, Alice’s House, Peters said.

The average length of stay for such halfway houses range from six months to two years, he said.

Supporters of the request emphasized to the council that the county will save money in the long run by helping to open the new facility.

Porter County Superior Court Judge Julia Jent said the halfway house would help offenders make the transition from jail, where they get clean, to regular housing, where they need to stay clean. But often, she said, drug offenders have no place to go upon their release from jail.

“Right now, I am using the Porter County Jail as a homeless shelter,” she said, noting the hefty cost to taxpayers of incarceration.

“Guaranteed. One way or another, you’re going to pay,” she said.

Harper said people with addictions usually have out-of-control lives, but that facilities like a halfway house help them get their lives in order. Similarly, Porter County Drug Task Force coordinator Robert Taylor said the drug problem is so prevalent, among youth as well as adults, that it’s nearly “hopeless.”

“We just have to keep up the battle,” he said.

Also speaking in support of the endeavor was Porter County Prosecutor Brian Gensel, who said that society can’t force people to change their lives, but nonetheless needs to put programs in place that give people that chance.

County council members seemed supportive of the proposal, though some had concerns about using county tax funds.

Council member Sylvia Graham, D-at large, said that clearly, the halfway house is needed but asked if the council would opening itself up to a barrage of other funding requests. Council member Laura Blaney, D-at large, responded that the council needs to take such requests on a case-by-case basis. She also asked if the foundation will seek any funding help from the city. Taylor, a member of the Valparaiso City Council, said he intends to bring up that issue.

Council member Dan Whitten, D-at large, said Porter County has been “fairly pro-active” in addressing the drug problem by providing funds for a variety of drug programs. Similarly, Karen Conover, R-3rd, said the county “has come a long way” in substance abuse programming. Council President Robert Poparad, D-1st, pointed out that the council in 2007 provided start-up for funds for the Pathway Family Center, though that was a private entity.

Council member Rita Stevenson, D-2nd, said even though the county helped out Pathway, she raised a concern about the possibility of looming budget cuts. But Michael Bucko, D-4th, said it’s fair to say that without start-up funds from the county, the new halfway house likely won’t open.

The council agreed to address the proposal again at its next meeting. It was noted that the matter was advertised only for discussion purposes.

In a separate but related matter, the council discussed a shortfall in a jail fund that pays staff and other expenses. The fund currently has a deficit of more than $143,000.

The fund is offset by fees paid by the state and federal governments for Porter County to house their prisoners. However, expenses have run higher than the revenue generated. Conover, noting the extensive discussion about the fund during last year’s budget hearings, said the bills must get paid, though everyone knew the fund was running dry. The council asked for more specific figures and tabled the issue.

Posted 5/1/2009