Porter County Commissioners Robert Harper and John Evans on Tuesday endorsed tapping $458,665 in county income tax funds to open a new halfway house for men, as part of the county’s continuing efforts to combat substance abuse.

The matter will now be forwarded to the Porter County Council, which will have to appropriate the funding.

The new halfway house is proposed by the non-profit Harold “Hal” Kelley Respite Foundation Inc., which is planning a 16-bed facility that will serve men recovering from addiction, many of whom will likely be former jail inmates who are trying to make the transition to regular life. The halfway house will follow a 12-step recovery program and will provide a structured environment for its residents, including curfew and mandatory work.

Attorney Mitch Peters, who was joined by most of the other halfway house board members, said the halfway house is a quality of life issue, as it affects the ability of people recovering from addiction to pay their taxes, pay child support, and otherwise live a life as contributing citizens.

The halfway house is only seeking county support toward the purchase of the Valparaiso house. Its operating funds would come from rent, grants, and other sources.

Porter Superior Court Judge Julia Jent said the halfway house will be important to the county’s drug court, which has seen people who are ready to be released from jail but who have no place to go. Many of the drug offenders are bright young people who need a second chance. “Sitting in jail is not the chance,” she said.

Peters presented statistics from the Porter County Coroner’s office detailing how deaths from drugs and alcohol are on the rise. In 2008, total deaths numbered 59, of which 31 were overdoses. The year before, the deaths totaled 36, of which 15 were overdoses.

Peters said the halfway house recently amended its bylaws to state that if the organization ever dissolved, its assets would transfer to Porter County. Previously, the beneficiary was to be Prisoners And Community Together.

Among those speaking in support of using County Economic Development Income Tax funds for the project was County Council member Karen Conover, one of the founding members of the Community Action Drug Coalition. She said an infusion of county funds is essential for the new halfway house, noting that it took CADC about 10 years just to raise $100,000.

Conover said the county can build a $37 million new jail, but that it must also address the other end of the substance abuse problem, namely, in treatment programs.

Pledging to donate her own time to help paint and fix up the new facility, Conover said it’s impossible to release addicts from the jail with no means of supporting themselves and expect positive results.

South County Commissioner Carole Knoblock was absent Tuesday, but at her request, Commissioner President Robert Harper read a statement she wrote in which she expressed support for the new halfway house but disagrees with spending county income tax funds for the purchase. She relayed her “no” vote on the matter.

But Harper and North Porter County Commissioner John Evans disagreed, and endorsed the funding request.

Evans said government has the duty and obligation to ensure that people are productive citizens. His motion in support of the CEDIT funding came with the stipulation that the county council attorney ensure that the county would be the beneficiary of the group’s assets in the event of a dissolution. He also told Peters and the other halfway house supporters not to return to the county for operating assistance.

Harper said the county council has recently beefed up funding for substance abuse in such ways as funding a substance abuse program at the county jail and doubling the size of the drug task force.

He said contrary to public perception, many drug addicts are teens who come from upper class families and who find themselves addicted to drugs. Years ago, many insurance companies paid for residential treatment programs, but now it’s rare to have coverage for the expense, which he noted can total up to $30,000 for just a few weeks.

“The need is so desperate that I think we must do this,” Harper said.

The commissioners received a round of applause after they voted to endorse the funding.

Posted 5/20/2009