Love Well Lease Meeting Diverts to Homeless Concerns
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
A public meeting about Anderson County Council’s proposal to lease a portion of the county’s property on Towers Street to Love Well, a residential treatment center for women seeking recovery from drug and/or alcohol addiction, drifted into an airing of grievances about the issue of homeless people in the city.
The four-month Love Well program will offer residential treatment for woman admitted with referral from Anderson County Drug Court, Public Defender’s Office, Detention Center, and/or the Solicitor’s Office.
Council unanimously approved the first reading of the plan last week, but Council Chairman Tommy Dunn organized the meeting between the administrator, council members and concerned business owners and citizens before the third (final) vote on the lease.
The building, built in the 1930s, was the County Agricultural Building for decades. Another part of the building is currently being used by Hope Missions of the Upstate, which is the county’s warming center, works to provide hope and healing to the community by meeting basic needs while seeking specific opportunities to improve individual circumstances. This includes feeding the hungry, providing clothing and shelter, and empowering those in need of help. The Christian organization is an approved 501(c)(3) Non-Profit charity.
Burns said the upgrades to the building would include at least $1 million for the roof, which will come from the opioid settlement and grant funding.
The Love Well facility would be manned 24-hours by counselors and that the women who would live in the residential facility would not be allowed to leave the facility unsupervised.
“The only way a resident can leave is with a counselor to go to the doctor, an NA/AA meeting or to church,” said Burns. “They would not be allowed to freely come and go from the facility.”
Burns said the relocation of the probation and parole office might actually decrease the number of people in the area around the building.
County officials challenged those concerned about issues from homelessness in the city to address many of their problems with the City of Anderson officials.
This Observer video captured Wednesday night’s event.
