Northeast: Frankford Civic Association Mulls Methadone Treatment Facilities

The Frankford Civic Association held a public meeting this week at Aria Health – Frankford Campus to address the concerns of residents about the proposed building of methadone clinics in the neighborhood.

The meeting was a follow-up to a hearing at the Mayfair Community Center that was held by Rep. Kevin Boyle, D-172nd, to discuss the potential impact of these clinics on the community. Eight days later, it is still the topic of discussion.

Beverly Haberle, executive director of The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania Inc., was one of the speakers at last night’s meeting, which focused on providing educational information about the proposed clinics.

“There was a lot of misinformation at the hearing [last week] and that’s why we are here,” Haberle said. This misinformation is what Haberle said she believes caused confusion about the differences between treatment facilities and recovery houses. Haberle explained to those in attendance that treatment centers have rules and standards they must follow where as recovery houses don’t.

Fred Martin, a colleague of Haberle, also spoke at the meeting and proposed an idea which would work in favor for both residents and the clinics.

“We have to come together and find a way,” Martin said, ”it’s a win-win situation for everyone.”

Although Martin spoke about finding a middle ground, his comments heavily addressed the continued concerns of residents. The primary concern discussed was the potential stress of dealing with many recovering addicts in neighboring recovery houses.

Another member speaking on behalf of methadone clinics was Fred Way, executive director of Philadelphia Association of Recovery Residences. Way said, “We’re looking at putting a face and voice to recovery.”

When asked about what could be done to deal with the bad recovery houses, Way said residents need to contact him and point them out. He said he has a feeling those houses are not licensed. Way then finished by assuring the small crowd of residents and Pete Specos, president of the Frankford Civic Association, by saying “I’m here for the long haul.”

There were two zoning issues addressed during the meeting, however, due to time restraints they were not discussed at length. Those zoning issues are located at 5013 Charles St. and 1829 Fillmore St. Specos also noted they could not be voted on because he was the only member of the board present.