Plans for halfway house dropped

NEIGHBORS FIGHT PASTOR'S EFFORT TO PUT HOME FOR EX-CONVICTS ON N. MAIN ST. IN LENOIR

NEARBY HOMEOWNERS SAY TRANSITIONAL HOME IS A GOOD IDEA, BUT NOT AT THAT LOCATION

Friday, September 1, 2006

By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer

A Lenoir pastor has abandoned plans to open a halfway house in a North Main Street church after residents opposed bringing newly released ex-convicts to live in their neighborhood.

Sherry Hicks, pastor at the Love Walk church, had hoped to bring a number of programs to the community, including Bible study, a food pantry and a transitional home for men coming out of jail.

But close to a dozen residents came to a Lenoir Planning Board meeting Monday in opposition, Hicks said, and it was clear her plan might not succeed on North Main.
"We're trying to help the community," Hicks said. "(But) if the community doesn't want it, we're not going to go to war over it."

Nearby homeowners say they think opening a halfway house in the area is a great idea but don't think North Main Street is the best location for a transitional home.

"This is a neighborhood that is really progressing," said Paul Stoecklein, who lives about a block from the church. "I think we all agree it's a noble cause. It's just not the right place."

Joel Kincaid, a Lenoir native, decided to restore a decrepit home next door to his residence after seeing the wood paneling inside. "This was a project not only to save a house, but to save the neighborhood," he said.

Kincaid wants to focus on revitalizing the area and said he worries that potential buyers would pass over a North Main home if they knew a halfway house was operating down the street.

The goal of the renovations, Kincaid said, is to draw homeowners to the neighborhood, encourage revitalization and develop a sense of community. "It's not just beautiful houses," he said.

Stoecklein, who moved to Lenoir with his wife less than two years ago, said the neighborhood has seen a surge in revitalization as people move into the 100-year-old homes and begin renovating.

Before, he said, many of the buildings were falling apart, and prostitution and drug use were more common. He called that neighborhood "iffy."

"We don't want the iffy to continue. We want the iffy to go away," he said. "A halfway house impedes that progress."

Although plans for opening the halfway house have been abandoned, Hicks said, inexpensive rent in the area makes North Main and the surrounding streets appealing to former convicts. Opponents "don't realize that when people get released from prison, this is the neighborhood that they are coming back to," she said.

Hicks withdrew the request Tuesday morning but said the services and Bible study will continue at the church, which opened in July. Hicks said she has not given up on the idea of opening a halfway house in the city.

"Regardless of what you've done in your past, you still deserve a chance for life," she said. "We (are) hoping to give them structure and some accountability."



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