Valpo halfway house expected to open soon
After delays, ‘we’re close,’ says president of Respite House board
A halfway house for men coming out of addiction is expected to open in about a month in Valparaiso, more than five months later than planned because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re close,” said Mitch Peters, president of the Respite House board, adding the facility was slated to open in late August but that was pushed back when the pandemic put things to a halt starting in March.
The two-story building, which looks like one story from Union Street, is light green with a deep green door, stone wall accents and white trim. It includes industrialgrade kitchen appliances and security cameras that will monitor residents while they are in common areas and outside.
“This really is a community project because without the community it couldn’t have happened and that’s what makes me so proud. We have to keep moving forward. We have the same problems as other communities,” including homelessness, addiction, mental illness and domestic violence, all of which overlap, Peters said. “The need is there. We’ve got people requesting beds on a daily basis.”
Officials broke ground on Respite House II, at 305 Union St., in late October 2019. That came after a series of meetings the previous year, including a review by the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals, during which neighbors expressed support for both the facility and the need it addresses, as well as concerns about its proximity to Will Park, its size and the number of people it would house.
The budget for the project is $522,000 but had some unexpected overruns, Peters said, adding that donations, including materials and labor, will keep the cost at or below what he budgeted.
Respite House chose the neighborhood because the two lots for the center could be purchased at cost from Project Neighbors, a nonprofit that builds affordable housing. The site previously hosted an empty lot where a house had been torn down and a second house, damaged by fire and a magnet for squatters, Peters said.
The first Respite House, at 1408 Chicago St., opened in December 2009. The staff there and some of the residents will move to the new house once it open, allowing for a mix of experienced staff and residents in both facilities.
The new house has the capacity for 22 residents, sharing 11 double rooms, and three live-in staff. Most of the residents are from Porter County and arrive at Respite House on court order, either from a treatment facility or from
the Porter County Jail, which also offers an assortment of treatment programs.
Residents range in age from 18 to 60, he said, though most are 24 to 32. The average stay is six months though if a resident becomes a staff member, that can be up to three years. They have cleaning, cooking and other duties at the house and receive coaching on budgeting and other life skills, as well as attending recovery meetings.
Peters found that, despite some initial resistance at community meetings, neighbors now are supportive of the project, keeping an eye on the building while it was under construction before it was closed up, for example.
Peters is certain he addressed concerns brought up during the meetings.
“Absolutely and I believe that we will an asset to the community and the neighborhood, and I believe we need more,” he said, adding there is a need for more programs for women, as well as additional housing for men.
There are more than 80 applications, submitted over the last three months, for the beds available at Respite House, Peters said.
Local officials agree there is a need for more facilities in the community to assist people transitioning out of addiction.
Porter County Prosecutor Gary Germann said in an email that he’s fully supportive of the creation of substance abuse treatment centers and halfway houses to address the ever-increasing problems with those impacted directly and indirectly by drug and alcohol abuse.
He said he’s also an advocate for doing what the county can for nonviolent offenders to offer services outside the Porter County Jail to restore recovering addicts to what they were before their downward departure.
“If we can successfully help people recover, we can save our resources for other things,” Germann said. “Once restored, they can become productive members of our community.”
Germann said the key for him is to focus on nonviolent offenders, something he can’t emphasize enough.
“I applaud what Respite House has done and is doing in our community,” he added. “If there is a specific need now, I would like to see more services available for women.”
Porter Superior Court Judge Christopher Buckley, who took office Jan. 1 and oversees the county’s problem-solving courts, said the additional beds are a necessity.
He visited the facility recently and said it exceeded his expectations.
“I think it’s a fantastic addition to the community,” he said. “I think that particular niche is underserved.”